COURSE OUTLINE
COMPLETE HANDOUT
PSYCHOLOGY BASIS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING
ASSESSMENT
UNIT 1
STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human development refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of humans throughout the lifespan. What types of development are involved in each of these three domains, or areas, of life? Physical development involves growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness. Cognitive development involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, and social relationships.
Physical Development
Many of us are familiar with the height and weight charts that paediatricians consult to estimate if babies, children, and teens are growing within normative ranges of physical development. We may also be aware of changes in children’s fine and gross motor skills, as well as their increasing coordination, particularly in terms of playing sports. But we may not realize that physical development also involves brain development, which not only enables childhood motor coordination but also greater coordination between emotions and planning in adulthood, as our brains are not done developing in infancy or childhood. Physical development also includes puberty, sexual health, fertility, menopause, changes in our senses, and primary versus secondary aging. Healthy habits with nutrition and exercise are also important at every age and stage across the lifespan.
As noted above, adolescence begins with puberty. While the sequence of physical changes in puberty is predictable, the onset and pace of puberty vary widely. Several physical changes occur during puberty, such as adrenarche and gonadarche, the maturing of the adrenal glands and sex glands, respectively. Also during this time, primary and secondary sexual characteristics develop and mature. Primary sexual characteristics are organs specifically needed for reproduction, like the uterus and ovaries in females and testes in males. Secondary sexual characteristics are physical signs of sexual maturation that do not directly involve sex organs, such as development of breasts and hips in girls, and development of facial hair and a deepened voice in boys. Girls experience menarche, the beginning of menstrual periods, usually around 12–13 years old, and boys experience spermarche, the first ejaculation, around 13–14 years old.
During puberty, both sexes experience a rapid increase in height (i.e., growth spurt). For girls this begins between 8 and 13 years old, with adult height reached between 10 and 16 years old. Boys begin their growth spurt slightly later, usually between 10 and 16 years old, and reach their adult height between 13 and 17 years old. Both nature (i.e., genes) and nurture (e.g., nutrition, medications, and medical conditions) can influence height.
Because rates of physical development vary so widely among teenagers, puberty can be a source of pride or embarrassment. Early maturing boys tend to be stronger, taller, and more athletic than their later maturing peers. They are usually more popular, confident, and independent, but they are also at a greater risk for substance abuse and early sexual activity (Flannery, Rowe, & Gulley, 1993; Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpela, Rissanen, & Rantanen, 2001). Early maturing girls may be teased or overtly admired, which can cause them to feel self-conscious about their developing bodies. These girls are at a higher risk for depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders (Ge, Conger, & Elder, 2001; Graber, Lewinsohn, Seeley, & Brooks-Gunn, 1997; Striegel-Moore & Cachelin, 1999). Late blooming boys and girls (i.e., they develop more slowly than their peers) may feel self-conscious about their lack of physical development. Negative feelings are particularly a problem for late maturing boys, who are at a higher risk for depression and conflict with parents (Graber et al., 1997) and more likely to be bullied (Pollack & Shuster, 2000).
The adolescent brain also remains under development. Up until puberty, brain cells continue to bloom in the frontal region. Adolescents engage in increased risk-taking behaviors and emotional outbursts possibly because the frontal lobes of their brains are still developing. Recall that this area is responsible for judgment, impulse control, and planning, and it is still maturing into early adulthood (Casey, Tottenham, Liston, & Durston, 2005).
Brain growth continues into the early 20s. The development of the frontal lobe, in particular, is important during this stage.
Cognitive Development
If we watch and listen to infants and toddlers, we can’t help but wonder how they learn so much so fast, particularly when it comes to language development. Then as we compare young children to those in middle childhood, there appear to be huge differences in their ability to think logically about the concrete world around them. Cognitive development includes mental processes, thinking, learning, and understanding, and it doesn’t stop in childhood. Adolescents develop the ability to think logically about the abstract world (and may like to debate matters with adults as they exercise their new cognitive skills!). Moral reasoning develops further, as does practical intelligence—wisdom may develop with experience over time. Memory abilities and different forms of intelligence tend to change with age. Brain development and the brain’s ability to change and compensate for losses is significant to cognitive functions across the lifespan, too.
More complex thinking abilities emerge during adolescence. Some researchers suggest this is due to increases in processing speed and efficiency rather than as the result of an increase in mental capacity—in other words, due to improvements in existing skills rather than development of new ones (Bjorkland, 1987; Case, 1985). During adolescence, teenagers move beyond concrete thinking and become capable of abstract thought. Recall that Piaget refers to this stage as formal operational thought. Teen thinking is also characterized by the ability to consider multiple points of view, imagine hypothetical situations, debate ideas and opinions (e.g., politics, religion, and justice), and form new ideas. In addition, it’s not uncommon for adolescents to question authority or challenge established societal norms.
Cognitive empathy, also known as theory-of-mind (which we discussed earlier with regard to egocentrism), relates to the ability to take the perspective of others and feel concern for others (Shamay-Tsoory, Tomer, & Aharon-Peretz, 2005). Cognitive empathy begins to increase in adolescence and is an important component of social problem solving and conflict avoidance. According to one longitudinal study, levels of cognitive empathy begin rising in girls around 13 years old, and around 15 years old in boys (Van der Graaff et al., 2013). Teens who reported having supportive fathers with whom they could discuss their worries were found to be better able to take the perspective of others (Miklikowska, Duriez, & Soenens, 2011).
Teenage thinking is characterized by the ability to reason logically and solve hypothetical problems such as how to design, plan, and build a structure. (credit: U.S. Army RDECOM)
Psychosocial Development
Development in this domain involves what’s going on both psychologically and socially. Early on, the focus is on infants and caregivers, as temperament and attachment are significant. As the social world expands and the child grows psychologically, different types of play and interactions with other children and teachers become important. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, self-esteem, and relationships. Peers become more important for adolescents, who are exploring new roles and forming their own identities. Dating, romance, cohabitation, marriage, having children, and finding work or a career are all parts of the transition into adulthood. Psychosocial development continues across adulthood with similar (and some different) developmental issues of family, friends, parenting, romance, divorce, remarriage, blended families, caregiving for elders, becoming grandparents and great grandparents, retirement, new careers, coping with losses, and death and dying.
As you may have already noticed, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development are often interrelated, as with the example of brain development. We will be examining human development in these three domains in detail throughout the modules in this course, as we learn about infancy/toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood development, as well as death and dying.
Adolescents continue to refine their sense of self as they relate to others. Erikson referred to the task of the adolescent as one of identity versus role confusion. Thus, in Erikson’s view, an adolescent’s main questions are “Who am I?” and “Who do I want to be?” Some adolescents adopt the values and roles that their parents expect for them. Other teens develop identities that are in opposition to their parents but align with a peer group. This is common as peer relationships become a central focus in adolescents’ lives.
As adolescents work to form their identities, they pull away from their parents, and the peer group becomes very important (Shanahan, McHale, Osgood, & Crouter, 2007). Despite spending less time with their parents, most teens report positive feelings toward them (Moore, Guzman, Hair, Lippman, & Garrett, 2004). Warm and healthy parent-child relationships have been associated with positive child outcomes, such as better grades and fewer school behavior problems, in the United States as well as in other countries (Hair et al., 2005).
It appears that most teens don’t experience adolescent storm and stress to the degree once famously suggested by G. Stanley Hall, a pioneer in the study of adolescent development. Only small numbers of teens have major conflicts with their parents (Steinberg & Morris, 2001), and most disagreements are minor. For example, in a study of over 1,800 parents of adolescents from various cultural and ethnic groups, Barber (1994) found that conflicts occurred over day-to-day issues such as homework, money, curfews, clothing, chores, and friends. These types of arguments tend to decrease as teens develop (Galambos & Almeida, 1992).
KEY ISSUES IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
There are many different theoretical approaches regarding human development. As we evaluate them in this course, recall that human development focuses on how people change, and the approaches address the nature of change in different ways:
· Is the change smooth or uneven (continuous versus discontinuous)?
· Is this pattern of change the same for everyone, or are there different patterns of change (one course of development versus many courses)?
· How do genetics and environment interact to influence development (nature versus nurture)?
IS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS OR DISCONTINUOUS?
Continuous development views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills (Figure 2). With this type of development, there is a gradual change. Consider, for example, a child’s physical growth: adding inches to their height year by year. In contrast, theorists who view development as discontinuous believe that development takes place in unique stages and that it occurs at specific times or ages. With this type of development, the change is more sudden, such as an infant’s ability to demonstrate awareness of object permanence (which is a cognitive skill that develops toward the end of infancy, according to Piaget’s cognitive theory—more on that theory in the next module).
IS THERE ONE COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT OR MANY?
Is development essentially the same, or universal, for all children (i.e., there is one course of development) or does development follow a different course for each child, depending on the child’s specific genetics and environment (i.e., there are many courses of development)? Do people across the world share more similarities or more differences in their development? How much do culture and genetics influence a child’s behaviour?
Stage theories hold that the sequence of development is universal. For example, in cross-cultural studies of language development, children from around the world reach language milestones in a similar sequence (Gleitman & Newport, 1995). Infants in all cultures coo before they babble. They begin babbling at about the same age and utter their first word around 12 months old. Yet we live in diverse contexts that have a unique effect on each of us. For example, researchers once believed that motor development followed one course for all children regardless of culture. However, childcare practices vary by culture, and different practices have been found to accelerate or inhibit the achievement of developmental milestones such as sitting, crawling, and walking (Karasik, Adolph, Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 2010).
For instance, let’s look at the Aché society in Paraguay. They spend a significant amount of time foraging in forests. While foraging, Aché mothers carry their young children, rarely putting them down in order to protect them from getting hurt in the forest. Consequently, their children walk much later: They walk around 23–25 months old, in comparison to infants in Western cultures who begin to walk around 12 months old. However, as Aché children become older, they are allowed more freedom to move about, and by about age 9, their motor skills surpass those of U.S. children of the same age: Aché children are able to climb trees up to 25 feet tall and use machetes to chop their way through the forest (Kaplan & Dove, 1987). As you can see, our development is influenced by multiple contexts, so the timing of basic motor functions may vary across cultures. However, the functions are present in all societies.
HOW DO NATURE AND NURTURE INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENT?
Are we who we are because of nature (biology and genetics), or are we who we are because of nurture (our environment and culture)? This longstanding question is known in psychology as the nature versus nurture debate. It seeks to understand how our personalities and traits are the product of our genetic makeup and biological factors, and how they are shaped by our environment, including our parents, peers, and culture. For instance, why do biological children sometimes act like their parents—is it because of genetics or because of early childhood environment and what the child has learned from their parents? What about children who are adopted—are they more like their biological families or more like their adoptive families? And how can siblings from the same family be so different?
We are all born with specific genetic traits inherited from our parents, such as eye colour, height, and certain personality traits. Beyond our basic genotype, however, there is a deep interaction between our genes and our environment. Our unique experiences in our environment influence whether and how particular traits are expressed, and at the same time, our genes influence how we interact with our environment (Diamond, 2009; Lobo, 2008). There is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture as they both shape who we become, but the debate continues as to the relative contributions of each.
UNIT 2
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
The following points highlight the eight main factors influencing language development of a child. The factors are: 1. General Health and Physical Status 2. Intelligence and Cognitive Development 3. Learning and Maturation 4. Environment 5. Sex 6. Relationship with Family Members 7. Number of Family Members 8. Bilingualism.
1. General Health and Physical Status:
General physiological condition and Motor development influence language development. Severe and prolonged illness and poor health particularly during the first two years of life retards the development of speech undoubtedly. Due to illness the child is separated from others and hence cannot learn to speak.
He also lacks self-confidence because of constant illness and weak health which may retard his spontaneous desire for effective self-expression. Since the child feels unwell most of the time there is no enthusiasm to talk and communicate with others. Slightly deaf children and children who are hard of hearing may have slow speech development.
Delay in speech development may be due to deafness. If a child does not start his first word by the requisite time his ear and vocal cord should be examined by a specialist. A healthy body produces a healthy mind. A healthy child is always happy, active and full of life and progressive. He has a wholesome personality, curiosity and interest in the environment, motivation and desire to learn.
A sickly child shows regression and backwardness in all types of development. Hence all satisfactory step should be taken to improve the health condition of the baby so that retarded language development can be checked before it does further harm to the baby.
2. Intelligence and Cognitive Development:
Language and intellectual development are so highly correlated that it is said ‘The child’s speech is the best single indicator of his I.Q.’ This is absolutely true. A child who is early in speech is above normal in I.Q. on the contrary, a delay in some months due to illness or other factors does not mean that he is dull.
This delay may be due to other factors as well. The ability to know the meaning of words and to gain from language symbols suffers because of difference in I.Q. Mentally alert young children usually talk early. They also understand or comprehend early what is communicated to them through language.
They very quickly grasp and understand what is told to them and recognize objects and people in their immediate environment call them by name. They can express their needs and desires in correct and simple sentences.
When my grandson Anurag was 18 months old, his grandfather told him “go ask Maa (me) “dress me up, I will go out with Jeje”. The baby came to me alone when I was in the Kitchen and told “Maa dress me up, I will go out with Jeje. This sentence becomes longer when spoken in Oriya.
These two sentences spoken by the baby contained 10 Oriya words. I was simply amazed at the remarkable speech development of the baby and took him in my arms and gave him a big kiss as a mark of reinforcement for his great achievement. This child has very high (Developmental Quotient) as tested by me.
Some children may be slow beginners, but subsequently develop mastery in language development. This delay may not be due to low intellectual development, but other factors. Keeping other factors constant, babbling at an early stage indicate higher intellectual growth.
Growth of vocabulary depends to a considerable extent on cognitive growth. In a dull child integration in language development is very poor, while an intelligent child shows great integration.
Studies and experience show that children with superior intelligence are better in vocabulary linguistic growth and sentence construction. They also show competency in the structure of sentence, length of sentences uttered and application of the words rightly. Studies of Cruickshank Johnson (1958) show that the lower the I.Q., the poorer is the speech.
3. Learning and Maturation:
Child’s language development depends a lot on learning and maturation. Infact, the interaction of these factors is crucial in determining the language development of the child. With the increase in age the vocal cord of the child matures and his learning also increases. By the interaction of these two factors language develops.
Whatever training might be given to a neonate or a three four months old baby until his vocal cord and speech muscles are not properly developed, he cannot speak a word. The fact that most of the children start speaking between 18th to 28th months suggest the strong influence of maturation in the language development.
The nervous system and the speech muscles are adequately developed by this time to start speaking. Another proof of the role of maturation in language development is that irrespective of culture, race, religion and geographical differences certain phases of speech development have a fixed sequence and they occur within a fixed range of age in spite of the individual differences.
Hence after proper maturation when the child is taught, motivated and reinforced to speak, he gains from it. Thus learning helps in language development only after a certain age, only after maturation of speech organs. Learning undoubtedly facilities language development.
If the child is not provided with proper facility, reinforcement and motivation to speak through various measures, if nobody communicates or interacts with him and he is left to live alone, his language development is affected due to want of proper training.
Hence both maturation and learning are essential for language development. Language development suffers severe setback if either one of these is deficient.
It has been established through research that favourable and stimulating environmental conditions improve the development of early speech and unfavourable environment retards it. It has been observed that orphans adopted in foster homes have better language development than orphans staying in institutions or orphanages having unstimulating environments.
The role of environment is therefore of extreme importance in the development of language. Even the effects of unstimulating environment on speech development are quite lasting and more or less permanent. The verbal ability is restricted and inhibited in poor and an illuminating environment where the child does not get any encouragement to speak.
Social class which is mostly linked to environment influences language development. Irwin, a Professor of Psychology in the University of Iowa, USA has found that by increasing the stimulation of the environment of a young child in lower class background will lead to heightened interest in language and would lead to improvement in speech.
The caretakers in the institutions usually speak less and hence never stimulate the children to speak or communicate. Due to poor environment also there is delay in the organisation of language and cognitive development. Greater opportunity to talk with adults increases the scope of language development.
5. Sex:
During the first of life effect of gender is not observed in language development i.e., boys and girls show similar development in language. But from second year girls show better speech development than boys; girls show greater mastery of speech sounds and talk fluently than boys.
This difference becomes more pronounced with passing of age and with the difference in socioeconomic status. Closeness of mother daughter relationship perhaps does help the girl child to have better speech development than the boy child. Boys commit more grammatical mistakes and their pronunciation is also less accurate than girls. This difference in the language development of boys and girls in enduring.
6. Relationship with Family Members:
The relationship of the child with his family members has lasting and enduring effect on his speech development. Excessive love and over protection of parents on the one hand and faulty child rearing practices, careless handling of the child, lack of proper parenting, continued and constant tension between parents and children, particularly mother and children lead to tension, anxiety and emotional problems.
The child feels insecured. In family children come in closer personal contact than in institutions. Those children who are reared by foster mothers or baby seaters from a very early age they lack closeness with the mother and family tie. They are slow in learning and retarded in their language development throughout their life.
Too much pampering of the child by parents has negative effect on language development. Over protected and anxious mothers allow their children to speak less and restrict their language. Democratic and flexible attitude of mothers encourage the children to speak more.
7. Number of Family Members:
This has got significant effect on language development. Some view that in a single child family the language of the child well-developed, polished and free of mistakes compared to a family with large number of children where because of competition there is more conflict and defects in language development are observed.
But another group of Psychologists argue that when there are large number of children in a family, the children get a chance to talk with each other .which facilities their language development.
8. Bilingualism:
Bilingualism develops when a baby is compelled to learn two languages in the early childhood. When a child speaks in native language at home and another foreign language at school or even when he hears two languages at home (when the father and mother speak different languages) his language development is retarded for the simple reason that it creates confusion in the small baby and his thinking power is affected.
Hence language development is delayed and adverse effect is observed on the vocabulary, spoken language etc. of the child. Due to transfer of training principles, one word of one language is used in the second language leading to faulty sentence constriction.
It is therefore not desirable to teach two more than one language to the child before he enters school (5-6 years age). By learning two languages before school going age, it becomes difficult for the child for adjustment. Defects in sentence construction and comprehension are also observed.
When two languages compete with each other’s, because of competition of responses there is negative effect. The child’s emotional and social adjustment is also affected due to bilingualism. Realising the adverse effects of bilingualism Thompson (1962) has remarked “There can be no doubt that the child reared in a bilingual environment is handicapped in his language growth.”
When father and mother speak in different languages at home, it further affects the child’s language development than when parents speak one language only. Children of immigrant parents are usually subjected to bilingualism.
UNIT 3
LEARNING THEORIES
Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retains knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.
1. BEHAVIORISM
HOW DOES LEARNING OCCUR?
Behaviourism equates learning with changes in either the form or frequency of observable performance. Learning is accomplished when a proper response is demonstrated following the presentation of a specific environmental stimulus. For example, when presented with a math flashcard showing the equation “2 + 4 =?” the learner replies with the answer of “6.” The equation is the stimulus and the proper answer is the associated response. The key elements are the stimulus, the response, and the association between the two. Of primary concern is how the association between the stimulus and response is made, strengthened, and maintained.
Behaviourism focuses on the importance of the consequences of those performances and contends that responses that are followed by reinforcement are more likely to recur in the future. No attempt is made to determine the structure of a student’s knowledge nor to assess which mental processes it is necessary for them to use (Winn, 1990). The learner is characterized as being reactive to conditions in the environment as opposed to taking an active role in discovering the environment.
WHICH FACTORS INFLUENCE LEARNING?
Although both learner and environmental factors are considered important by behaviorists, environmental conditions receive the greatest emphasis. Behaviorists assess the learners to determine at what point to begin instruction as well as to determine which reinforcers are most effective for a particular student. The most critical factor, however, is the arrangement of stimuli and consequences within the environment.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEMORY?
Memory, as commonly defined by the layman, is not typically addressed by behaviourists. Although the acquisition of “habits” is discussed, little attention is given as to how these habits are stored or recalled for future use. Forgetting is attributed to the “nonuse” of a response over time. The use of periodic practice or review serves to maintain a learner’s readiness to respond (Schunk, 1991).
HOW DOES TRANSFER OCCUR?
Transfer refers to the application of learned knowledge in new ways or situations, as well as to how prior learning affects new learning. In behavioural learning theories, transfer is a result of generalization. Situations involving identical or similar features allow behaviours to transfer across common elements. For example, the student who has learned to recognize and classify elm trees demonstrates transfer when (s)he classifies maple trees using the same process. The similarities between the elm and maple trees allow the learner to apply the previous elm tree classification learning experience to the maple tree classification task.
WHAT TYPES OF LEARNING ARE BEST EXPLAINED BY THIS POSITION?
Behaviourists attempt to prescribe strategies that are most useful for building and strengthening stimulus-response associations (Winn, 1990), including the use of instructional cues, practice, and reinforcement. These prescriptions have generally been proven reliable and effective in facilitating learning that involves discriminations (recalling facts), generalizations (defining and illustrating concepts), associations (applying explanations), and chaining (automatically performing a specified procedure). However, it is generally agreed that behavioral principles cannot adequately explain the acquisition of higher level skills or those that require a greater depth of processing (e.g., language development, problem solving, inference generating, critical thinking)
WHAT BASIC ASSUMPTIONS/PRINCIPLES OF THIS THEORY ARE RELEVANT TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN?
Many of the basic assumptions and characteristics of behaviourism are embedded in current instructional design practices. Behaviourism was used as the basis for designing many of the early audio-visual materials and gave rise to many related teaching strategies, such as Skinner’s teaching machines and programmed texts. More recent examples include principles utilized within computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and mastery learning.
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on producing observable and measurable outcomes in students [behavioural objectives, task analysis, criterion-referenced assessment]
2. Pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should begin [learner analysis]
3. Emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more complex levels of performance [sequencing of instructional presentation, mastery learning]
4. Use of reinforcement to impact performance [tangible rewards, informative feedback]
5. Use of cues, shaping and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-response association [simple to complex sequencing of practice, use of prompts]
HOW SHOULD INSTRUCTION BE STRUCTURED?
The goal of instruction for the behaviourist is to elicit the desired response from the learner who is presented with a target stimulus. To accomplish this, the learner must know how to execute the proper response, as well as the conditions under which that response should be made. Therefore, instruction is structured around the presentation of the target stimulus and the provision of opportunities for the learner to practice making the proper response. To facilitate the linking of stimulus-response pairs, instruction frequently uses cues (to initially prompt the delivery of the response) and reinforcement (to strengthen correct responding in the presence of the target stimulus).
Behavioural theories imply that the job of the teacher/designer is to (1) determine which cues can elicit the desired responses; (2) arrange practice situations in which prompts are paired with the target stimuli that initially have no eliciting power but which will be expected to elicit the responses in the “natural” (performance) setting; and (3) arrange environmental conditions so that students can make the correct responses in the presence of those target stimuli and receive reinforcement for those responses (Gropper, 1987).
For example, a newly-hired manager of human resources may be expected to organize a meeting agenda according to the company’s specific format. The target stimulus (the verbal command “to format a meeting agenda”) does not initially elicit the correct response nor does the new manager have the capability to make the correct response. However, with the repeated presentation of cues (e.g., completed templates of past agendas, blank templates arranged in standard format) paired with the verbal command stimulus, the manager begins to make the appropriate responses. Although the initial responses may not be in the final proper form, repeated practice and reinforcement shape the response until it is correctly executed. FinaIIy, learning is demonstrated when, upon the command to format a meeting agenda, the manager reliably organizes the agenda according to company standards and does so without the use of previous examples or models.
2. COGNITIVISM
In the late 1950’s, learning theory began to make a shift away from the use of behavioural models to an approach that relied on learning theories and models from the cognitive sciences. Psychologists and educators began to de-emphasize a concern with overt, observable behaviour and stressed instead more complex cognitive processes such as thinking, problem solving, language, concept formation and information processing (Snelbecker, 1983). Within the past decade, a number of authors in the field of instructional design have openly and consciously rejected many of ID’s traditional behaviouristic assumptions in favor of a new set of psychological assumptions about learning drawn from the cognitive sciences. Whether viewed as an open revolution or simply a gradual evolutionary process, there seems to be the general acknowledgment that cognitive theory has moved to the forefront of current learning theories (Bednar et al., 1991). This shift from a behavioural orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting a student’s overt performance by the manipulation of stimulus material) to a cognitive orientation (where the emphasis is on promoting mental processing) has created a similar shift from procedures for manipulating the materials to be presented by an instructional system to procedures for directing student processing and interaction with the instructional design system (Merrill, Kowalis, & Wilson, 1981).
HOW DOES LEARNING OCCUR?
Cognitive theories stress the acquisition of knowledge and internal mental structures and, as such, are closer to the rationalist end of the epistemology continuum (Bower & Hilgard, 1981). Learning is equated with discrete changes between states of knowledge rather than with changes in the probability of response. Cognitive theories focus on the conceptualization of students’ learning processes and address the issues of how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the mind. Learning is concerned not so much with what learners do but with what they know and how they come to acquire it (Jonassen, 1991b). Knowledge acquisition is described as a mental activity that entails internal coding and structuring by the learner. The learner is viewed as a very active participant in the learning process.
WHICH FACTORS INFLUENCE LEARNING?
Cognitivism, like behaviourism, emphasizes the role that environmental conditions play in facilitating learning. Instructional explanations, demonstrations, illustrative examples and matched non-examples are all considered to be instrumental in guiding student learning. Similarly, emphasis is placed on the role of practice with corrective feedback. Up to this point, little difference can be detected between these two theories. However, the “active” nature of the learner is perceived quite differently. The cognitive approach focuses on the mental activities of the learner that lead up to a response and acknowledges the processes of mental planning, goal-setting, and organizational strategies (Shuell, 1986). Cognitive theories contend that environmental “cues” and instructional components alone cannot account for all the learning that results from an instructional situation. Additional key elements include the way that learners attend to, code, transform, rehearse, store and retrieve information. Learners’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and values are also considered to be influential in the learning process (Winne, 1985). The real focus of the cognitive approach is on changing the learner by encouraging him/her to use appropriate learning strategies.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEMORY?
As indicated above, memory is given a prominent role in the learning process. Learning results when information is stored in memory in an organized, meaningful manner. Teachers/designers are responsible for assisting learners in organizing that information in some optimal way. Designers use techniques such as advance organizers, analogies, hierarchical relationships, and matrices to help learners relate new information to prior knowledge. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information from memory because of interference, memory loss, or missing or inadequate cues needed to access information.
HOW DOES TRANSFER OCCUR?
According to cognitive theories, transfer is a function of how information is stored in memory (Schunk, 1991). When a learner understands how to apply knowledge in different contexts, then transfer has occurred. Understanding is seen as being composed of a knowledge base in the form of rules, concepts, and discriminations (Duffy & Jonassen, 1991). Prior knowledge is used to establish boundary constraints for identifying the similarities and differences of novel information. Not only must the knowledge itself be stored in memory but the uses of that knowledge as well. Specific instructional or real-world events will trigger particular responses, but the learner must believe that the knowledge is useful in a given situation before he will activate it.
WHAT TYPES OF LEARNING ARE BEST EXPLAINED BY THIS POSITION?
Because of the emphasis on mental structures, cognitive theories are usually considered more appropriate for explaining complex forms of learning (reasoning, problem-solving, information-processing) than are those of a more behavioral perspective (Schunk, 1991). However, it is important to indicate at this point that the actual goal of instruction for both of these viewpoints is often the same: to communicate or transfer knowledge to the students in the most efficient, effective manner possible (Bednar et al., 1991). Two techniques used by both camps in achieving this effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge transfer are simplification and standardization. That is, knowledge can be analysed, decomposed, and simplified into basic building blocks. Knowledge transfer is expedited if irrelevant information is eliminated. For example, trainees attending a workshop on effective management skills would be presented with information that is “sized” and “chunked” in such a way that they can assimilate and/or accommodate the new information as quickly and as easily as possible. Behaviourists would focus on the design of the environment to optimize that transfer, while cognitivists would stress efficient processing strategies.
WHAT BASIC ASSUMPTIONS/PRINCIPLES OF THIS THEORY ARE RELEVANT TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN?
Many of the instructional strategies advocated and utilized by cognitivists are also emphasized by behaviourists, yet usually for different reasons. An obvious commonality is the use of feedback. A behaviourist uses feedback (reinforcement) to modify behaviour in the desired direction, while cognitivists make use of feedback (knowledge of results) to guide and support accurate mental connections (Thompson, Simonson, & Hargrave, 1992).
Learner and task analyses are also critical to both cognitivists and behaviourists, but once again, for different reasons. Cognitivists look at the learner to determine his/her predisposition to learning (i.e., How does the learner activate, maintain, and direct his/her learning?) (Thompson et al., 1992). Additionally, cognitivists examine the learner to determine how to design instruction so that it can be readily assimilated (i.e., what are the learner’s existing mental structures?). In contrast, the behaviourists look at learners to determine where the lesson should begin (i.e., At what level are they currently performing successfully?) and which reinforcers should be most effective (i.e., What consequences are most desired by the learner?).
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design include the following (possible current ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. Emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process [learner control, metacognitive training (e.g., self-planning, monitoring, and revising techniques)]
2. Use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships [cognitive task analysis procedures]
3. Emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal processing [use of cognitive strategies such as outlining, summaries, synthesizers, advance organizers, etc.]
4. Creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make connections with previously learned material [recall of prerequisite skills; use of relevant examples, analogies]
HOW SHOULD INSTRUCTION BE STRUCTURED?
Behavioural theories imply that teachers ought to arrange environmental conditions so that students respond properly to presented stimuli. Cognitive theories emphasize making knowledge meaningful and helping learners organize and relate new information to existing knowledge in memory. Instruction must be based on a student’s existing mental structures, or schema, to be effective. It should organize information in such a manner that learners are able to connect new information with existing knowledge in some meaningful way. Analogies and metaphors are examples of this type of cognitive strategy. For example, instructional design textbooks frequently draw an analogy between the familiar architect’s profession and the unfamiliar instructional design profession to help the novice learner conceptualize, organize and retain the major duties and functions of an instructional designer (e.g. Reigeluth, 1983, p. 7). Other cognitive strategies may include the use of framing, outlining, mnemonics, concept mapping, advance organizers and so forth (West, Farmer, & Wolff, 1991).
Such cognitive emphases imply that major tasks of the teacher/designer include (1) understanding that individuals bring various learning experiences to the learning situation which can impact learning outcomes; (2) determining the most effective manner in which to organize and structure new information to tap the learners’ previously acquired knowledge, abilities, and experiences; and (3) arranging practice with feedback so that the new information is effectively and efficiently assimilated and/or accommodated within the learner’s cognitive structure (Stepich & Newby, 1988).
Consider the following example of a learning situation utilizing a cognitive approach: A manager in the training department of a large corporation had been asked to teach a new intern to complete a cost-benefit analysis for an upcoming development project. In this case, it is assumed that the intern has no previous experience with cost-benefit analysis in a business setting. However, by relating this new task to highly similar procedures with which the intern has had more experience, the manager can facilitate a smooth and efficient assimilation of this new procedure into memory. These familiar procedures may include the process by which the individual allocates his monthly paycheck, how (s)he makes a buy/no-buy decision regarding the purchase of a luxury item, or even how one’s weekend spending activities might be determined and prioritized. The procedures for such activities may not exactly match those of the cost-benefit analysis, but the similarity between the activities allows for the unfamiliar information to be put within a familiar context. Thus processing requirements are reduced and the potential effectiveness of recall cues is increased.
3. CONSTRUCTIVISM
The philosophical assumptions underlying both the behavioural and cognitive theories are primarily objectivistic; that is: the world is real, external to the learner. The goal of instruction is to map the structure of the world onto the learner (Jonassen, 1991b). A number of contemporary cognitive theorists have begun to question this basic objectivistic assumption and are starting to adopt a more constructivist approach to learning and understanding: knowledge “is a function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her own experiences” (p.10). Constructivism is not a totally new approach to learning. Like most other learning theories, constructivism has multiple roots in the philosophical and psychological viewpoints of this century, specifically in the works of Piaget, Bruner, and Goodman (Perkins, 1991). In recent years, however, constructivism has become a “hot” issue as it has begun to receive increased attention in a number of different disciplines, including instructional design (Bednar et al., 1991).
HOW DOES LEARNING OCCUR?
Constructivism is a theory that equates learning with creating meaning from experience (Bednar et al., 1991). Even though constructivism is considered to be a branch of cognitivism (both conceive of learning as a mental activity), it distinguishes itself from traditional cognitive theories in a number of ways. Most cognitive psychologists think of the mind as a reference tool to the real world; constructivists believe that the mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality (Jonassen, 1991a). Like with the rationalists of Plato’s time, the mind is believed to be the source of all meaning, yet like the empiricists, individual, direct experiences with the environment are considered critical. Constructivism crosses both categories by emphasizing the interaction between these two variables.
Constructivists do not share with cognitivists and behaviourists the belief that knowledge is mind-independent and can be “mapped” onto a learner. Constructivists do not deny the existence of the real world but contend that what we know of the world stems from our own interpretations of our experiences. Humans create meaning as opposed to acquiring it. Since there are many possible meanings to glean from any experience, we cannot achieve a predetermined, “correct” meaning. Learners do not transfer knowledge from the external world into their memories; rather they build personal interpretations of the world based on individual experiences and interactions. Thus, the internal representation of knowledge is constantly open to change; there is not an objective reality that learners strive to know. Knowledge emerges in contexts within which it is relevant. Therefore, in order to understand the learning which has taken place within an individual, the actual experience must be examined (Bednar et al., 1991).
WHICH FACTORS INFLUENCE LEARNING?
Both learner and environmental factors are critical to the constructivist, as it is the specific interaction between these two variables that creates knowledge. Constructivists argue that behaviour is situationally determined (Jonassen, 1991a). Just as the learning of new vocabulary words is enhanced by exposure and subsequent interaction with those words in context (as opposed to learning their meanings from a dictionary), likewise it is essential that content knowledge be embedded in the situation in which it is used. Brown, Collins, and Duguid (1989) suggest that situations actually co-produce knowledge (along with cognition) through activity. Every action is viewed as “an interpretation of the current situation based on an entire history of previous interactions” (Clancey, 1986). Just as shades of meanings of given words are constantly changing a learner’s “current” understanding of a word, so too will concepts continually evolve with each new use. For this reason, it is critical that learning occur in realistic settings and that the selected learning tasks be relevant to the students’ lived experience.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF MEMORY?
The goal of instruction is not to ensure that individuals know particular facts but rather that they elaborate on and interpret information. “Understanding is developed through continued, situated use … and does not crystallize into a categorical definition” that can be called up from memory (Brown et al., 1989, p. 33). As mentioned earlier, a concept will continue to evolve with each new use as new situations, negotiations, and activities recast it in a different, more densely textured form. Therefore, “memory” is always under construction as a cumulative history of interactions. Representations of experiences are not formalized or structured into a single piece of declarative knowledge and then stored in the head. The emphasis is not on retrieving intact knowledge structures, but on providing learners with the means to create novel and situation-specific understandings by “assembling” prior knowledge from diverse sources appropriate to the problem at hand. For example, the knowledge of “design” activities has to be used by a practitioner in too many different ways for them all to be anticipated in advance. Constructivists emphasize the flexible use of pre-existing knowledge rather than the recall of prepackaged schemas (Spiro, Feltovich, Jacobson, & Coulson, 1991). Mental representations developed through task-engagement are likely to increase the efficiency with which subsequent tasks are performed to the extent that parts of the environment remain the same: “Recurring features of the environment may thus afford recurring sequences of actions” (Brown et al., p. 37). Memory is not a context-independent process.
Clearly the focus of constructivism is on creating cognitive tools which reflect the wisdom of the culture in which they are used as well as the insights and experiences of individuals. There is no need for the mere acquisition of fixed, abstract, self-contained concepts or details. To be successful, meaningful, and lasting, learning must include all three of these crucial factors: activity (practice), concept (knowledge), and culture (context) (Brown et al., 1989).
HOW DOES TRANSFER OCCUR?
The constructivist position assumes that transfer can be facilitated by involvement in authentic tasks anchored in meaningful contexts. Since understanding is “indexed” by experience (just as word meanings are tied to specific instances of use), the authenticity of the experience becomes critical to the individual’s ability to use ideas (Brown et al., 1989). An essential concept in the constructivist view is that learning always takes place in a context and that the context forms an inexorable link with the knowledge embedded in it (Bednar et al., 1991). Therefore, the goal of instruction is to accurately portray tasks, not to define the structure of learning required to achieve a task. If learning is decontextualized, there is little hope for transfer to occur. One does not learn to use a set of tools simply by following a list of rules. Appropriate and effective use comes from engaging the learner in the actual use of the tools in real-world situations. Thus, the ultimate measure of learning is based on how effective the learner’s knowledge structure is in facilitating thinking and performing in the system in which those tools are used.
WHAT TYPES OF LEARNING ARE BEST EXPLAINED BY THIS POSITION?
The constructivist view does not accept the assumption that types of learning can be identified independent of the content and the context of learning (Bednar et al., 1991). Constructivists believe that it is impossible to isolate units of information or divide up knowledge domains according to a hierarchical analysis of relationships. Although the emphasis on performance and instruction has proven effective in teaching basic skills in relatively structured knowledge domains, much of what needs to be learned involves advanced knowledge in ill-structured domains. Jonassen (1991a) has described three stages of knowledge acquisition (introductory, advanced, and expert) and argues that constructive learning environments are most effective for the stage of advanced knowledge acquisition, where initial misconceptions and biases acquired during the introductory stage can be discovered, negotiated, and if necessary, modified and/or removed. Jonassen agrees that introductory knowledge acquisition is better supported by more objectivistic approaches (behavioral and/or cognitive) but suggests a transition to constructivistic approaches as learners acquire more knowledge which provides them with the conceptual power needed to deal with complex and ill-structured problems.
WHAT BASIC ASSUMPTIONS/PRINCIPLES OF THIS THEORY ARE RELEVANT TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN?
The constructivist designer specifies instructional methods and strategies that will assist learners in actively exploring complex topics/environments and that will move them into thinking in a given content area as an expert user of that domain might think. Knowledge is not abstract but is linked to the context under study and to the experiences that the participants bring to the context. As such, learners are encouraged to construct their own understandings and then to validate, through social negotiation, these new perspectives. Content is not prespecified; information from many sources is essential. For example, a typical constructivist’s goal would not be to teach novice ID students straight facts about instructional design, but to prepare students to use ID facts as an instructional designer might use them. As such, performance objectives are not related so much to the content as they are to the processes of construction.
Some of the specific strategies utilized by constructivists include situating tasks in real-world contexts, use of cognitive apprenticeships (modeling and coaching a student toward expert performance), presentation of multiple perspectives (collaborative learning to develop and share alternative views), social negotiation (debate, discussion, evidencegiving), use of examples as real “slices of life,” reflective awareness, and providing considerable guidance on the use of constructive processes.
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position that have direct relevance for the instructional designer (possible ID applications are listed in italics and brackets following the listed principle):
1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and subsequently applied [anchoring learning in meaningful contexts].
2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate information [actively using what is learned].
3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways [revisiting content at different times, in rearranged contexts, for different purposes, and from different conceptual perspectives].
4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the information given.” [Developing pattern-recognition skills, presenting alternative ways of representing problems].
5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills [presenting new problems and situations that differ from the conditions of the initial instruction].
HOW SHOULD INSTRUCTION BE STRUCTURED?
As one moves along the behaviourist-cognitivist-constructivist continuum, the focus of instruction shifts from teaching to learning, from the passive transfer of facts and routines to the active application of ideas to problems. Both cognitivists and constructivists view the learner as being actively involved in the learning process, yet the constructivists look at the learner as more than just an active processor of information; the learner elaborates upon and interprets the given information (Duffy & Jonassen, 1991). Meaning is created by the learner: learning objectives are not pre-specified nor is instruction predesigned. “The role of instruction in the constructivist view is to show students how to construct knowledge, to promote collaboration with others to show the multiple perspectives that can be brought to bear on a particular problem, and to arrive at self-chosen positions to which they can commit themselves, while realizing the basis of other views with which they may disagree” (Cunningham, 1991, p. 14).
Even though the emphasis is on learner construction, the instructional designer/ teacher’s role is still critical (Reigeluth, 1989). Here the tasks of the designer are two-fold: (1) to instruct the student on how to construct meaning, as well as how to effectively monitor, evaluate, and update those constructions; and (2) to align and design experiences for the learner so that authentic, relevant contexts can be experienced.
Although constructivist approaches are used quite frequently in the preparation of lawyers, doctors, architects, and businessmen through the use of apprenticeships and on-the-job training, they are typically not applied in the educational arena (Resnick, 1987). If they were, however, a student placed in the hands of a constructivist would likely be immersed in an “apprenticeship” experience. For example, a novice instructional design student who desires to learn about needs assessment would be placed in a situation that requires such an assessment to be completed. Through the modelling and coaching of experts involved in authentic cases, the novice designer would experience the process embedded in the true context of an actual problem situation. Over time, several additional situations would be experienced by the student, all requiring similar needs assessment abilities. Each experience would serve to build on and adapt that which has been previously experienced and constructed. As the student gained more confidence and experience, (s)he would move into a collaborative phase of learning where discussion becomes crucial. By talking with others (peers, advanced students, professors, and designers), students become better able to articulate their own understandings of the needs assessment process. As they uncover their naive theories, they begin to see such activities in a new light, which guides them towards conceptual reframing (learning). Students gain familiarity with analysis and action in complex situations and consequently begin to expand their horizons: they encounter relevant books, attend conferences and seminars, discuss issues with other students, and use their knowledge to interpret numerous situations around them (not only related to specific design issues). Not only have the learners been involved in different types of learning as they moved from being novices to “budding experts,” but the nature of the learning process has changed as well.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BAHAVIOURISM, COGINIIVISM AND CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORIES
| Behaviourism | Cognitive | Constructivism |
View of knowledge | Knowledge is a repertoire of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. | Knowledge systems of cognitive structures are actively constructed by learners based on pre-existing cognitive structures. | Knowledge is constructed within social contexts through interactions with a knowledge community. |
View of learning | Passive absorption of a predefined body of knowledge by the learner. Promoted by repetition and positive reinforcement. | Active assimilation and accommodation of new information to existing cognitive structures. Discovery by learners is emphasized. | Integration of students into a knowledge community. Collaborative assimilation and accommodation of new information. |
View of motivation | Extrinsic, involving positive and negative reinforcement. | Intrinsic; learners set their own goals and motivate themselves to learn. | Intrinsic and extrinsic. Learning goals and motives are determined both by learners and extrinsic rewards provided by the knowledge community. |
Implications for Teaching | Correct behavioural responses are transmitted by the teacher and absorbed by the students. | The teacher facilitates learning by providing an environment that promotes discovery and assimilation/accommodation. | Collaborative learning is facilitated and guided by the teacher. Group work is encouraged. |
UNIT 4
TRANSFER OF LEARNING, CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE
TRANSFER OF LEARNING
Transfer of learning means the use of previously acquired knowledge and skills in new learning or problem-solving situations. Thereby similarities and analogies between previous and actual learning content and processes may play a crucial role.
Transfer of training is applying knowledge and skills acquired during training to a targeted job or role. This is a term commonly used within industrial and organizational psychology.
For example, after completing a safety course, transfer of training occurs when the employee uses learned safety behaviours in their work environment.
Theoretically, transfer of training is a specific application of the theory of transfer of learning that describes the positive, zero, or negative performance outcomes of a training program. The positive transfer of training-- the increase in job performance attributed to training-- has become the goal of many organizations. Characteristics of trainees, the work environment, and training strategies contribute to this goal of positive transfer. Ultimately, transfer of training provides organizations with a method to evaluate training's effectiveness and identify areas for training's improvement.
TYPES OF TRANFER OF LEARNING
There are three types of transfer:
· Zero transfer.
· Negative transfer.
· Positive transfer.
Zero Transfer
This refers to acquiring knowledge, skills or principles that are not transferable from one situation to another. This occurs when there is no relationship between one subject and another one. Therefore, learning one subject has no effect on the other one positively or negatively. Examples of zero transfer can be illustrated by the learning of mathematics and Kiswahili. Unless Kiswahili is used as a language of instruction in mathematics there is no other relationship between the two. Mathematical principles will not help a learner understand Kiswahili principles or vice versa.
Other examples can be illustrated between geography and music or fine art and biology. These two pairs of subjects share no meeting ground. Each is independent from the other in terms of facts, skills, principles and technical jargon. The learning of one is independent from the learning of the other and does not inhibit nor enhance the other.
Negative transfer
Negative transfer occurs when content in a subject or in two different subjects has a negative influence o one another. This happens when what is learned in one situation hinders or inhibits what is learned in another situation. For example, if a learner is introduced to two new languages, which are similar at the same time, negative transfer occurs. A learner who is learning English and German at the same time experiences difficulties mastering both languages simultaneously due to inhibition or interference. English interferes with German and vice versa. Negative transfer operates much the same way as proactive and retroactive inhibition does. Before mastering of each is achieved there is a lot of back and forth movement and even mix-up of English and German words. Consequently this brings about a slowed process or retardation in the learning process.
However, with enough practice and mastery of both negative transfer is minimized and even eliminated altogether.
Positive Transfer
Positive transfer occurs, when knowledge acquired in one situation helps the learner to acquire knowledge, skills or principles in another situation much faster. For example learning of mathematical principles enables the learner to acquire principles in physics. There are many illustrations of positive transfer in the school setting, which can be mentioned here: For example, learning grammar in any language and writing compositions in the language.
The learning of biology and agriculture Learning of physics and mathematics
Learning of chemistry, biology and Agriculture, Mathematics, geography, business Education, Chemistry and Physics. Positive transfer indicates a positive relationship between particular topic areas in given subjects or even two or more content areas in different subjects.
Positive transfer can operate at two levels. These are:
· Lateral transfer (horizontal)
· Vertical transfer
Lateral transfer
Lateral transfer occurs when a learner is exposed to content that is applicable to another subject or situation at the same level. For example, a child who is trying to learn basics in arithmetic discovers that (4*9=36, 9*4=36), (3+5=8, 5+3=8) is transferring knowledge laterally or horizontally. Secondly, when a learner acquires the basic skills of baking a cake in school he applies the knowledge to bake at home horizontally. He will use the same ingredients, the same measures and the same baking methods as learned at school.
Thirdly mathematical skills and principles taught in form one helps the learner to acquire principles and skills to master form-one physics. So this kind of transfer is applicable at the same level and is basically foundational.
Vertical transfer
Vertical transfer occurs when knowledge is applied to other learning’s at a higher level either in the same subject or in another subject. For example form one mathematics series is a foundation for form two, form three, and form- four mathematics. This happens at all applications of subject areas in an ascending order. For vertical transfer to occur the subject should be well mastered at the foundational levels so that learning is given a chance to generalize and become useful further along the learning process. For example when a pupil masters simple grammatical rules he is enabled to speak correct English, write competently and to study other subjects in English as well. Also when a pupil masters simple arithmetic and numeracy he is enabled to acquire complex concepts in mathematics and physics.
CONDITION FOR TRANSFER TO TAKE PLACE
TRAINEE CHARACTERISTICS
Cognitive Ability: Higher cognitive ability typically leads to higher levels of retention and generalization of learned material.
Self-efficacy: Higher self-efficacy contributes to positive transfer through its influence on confidence and persistence.
Motivation: Individuals with a higher motivation to learn tend to experience higher levels of positive transfer of training.
Personality: Higher measures of conscientiousness increase the likelihood of positive transfer.
Perceptions of Utility: Beliefs in the value and usefulness of training increase the likelihood of positive transfer.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Transfer climate: By definition, a positive transfer climate is a work environment that contains cues and feedback mechanisms that remind employees of learned material.
Positive transfer climates tend to facilitate higher levels of positive transfer.
Support: Support from supervisors and peers leads to higher levels of positive transfer.
Opportunity to Perform: Work environments that provide opportunities to use learned material promote higher positive transfer of training.
Check-Ins: Regular reviews of training material solidify knowledge and contribute to positive transfer.
TRAINING STRATEGIES
Similarity: Also referred to as identical elements theory, a high degree of similarity between the training environment and work environment increases the positive transfer of training.
Active Learning: Hands-on practice of material contributes to positive transfer, especially when it incorporates a variety of different contexts.
Behavioural Modelling: A training technique inspired by Albert Bandura's theory of social learning, which involves explanations, demonstrations, and active learning, feedback, and reinforcement . Behavioural modelling is associated with increased positive transfer, especially when both incorrect and correct behavioural examples are provided during training.
Error-based examples: Training that focuses on how to deal with problems and learn from errors facilitates higher positive transfer.
Collaboration: Collaboration between trainees, trainers, and supervisors during training increases positive transfer.
Multiple Strategies: The use of variety of teaching and learning strategies facilitates positive transfer.
Goals: Setting goals and expectations for training increases positive transfer.
Assessments: Intermittent assessments of participant's knowledge of learned material increases positive transfer.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
A systematic approach is required to promote transfer of learning in the classroom. Purposeful teaching activities must be employed that suit the type of knowledge to be transferred and the abilities of the students. Several implications of the transfer of learning concept are discussed in this module.
According to Wellington, 2006, students should master the original material thoroughly in order for transfer to take place. This means that teachers should allow students time to entirely grasp the concepts. Students need to experience the material in different ways through a range of different examples
Teachers would need to pay more attention to the more significant and pertinent aspects of the syllabus. In order to do this, the teacher would also need to know precisely the skills, knowledge, or principles are to be transferred, and those should be reflected in the objectives. The structure of tests or examinations would need to be modified in order to accommodate transfer objectives and the individual differences among students. Equal emphasis should also be placed on formative assessment and alternative forms of assessment, such as observation checklists, and practical exams, since some transfer behaviours are difficult to observe using traditional evaluation methods.
Failed transfer usually happens when students are unable to make connections between what was learnt previously and the task at hand. The practice of drawing students’ attention to connections, practical applications, and abstract relationships should be a deliberate and conscious strategy on the teacher’s part. It should become second nature to a teacher to ask students’ questions like, “Why is this topic important?”; “In what other situation can this principle be applied?”, “What does this remind you of?” This culture of transfer should be encouraged. This practice would also inculcate in students a spirit of transfer and get them in the habit of thinking about what they learn in school and and relating it to everyday life.
The relationship between concepts and possible applications of knowledge and skill is not always visible to students. In teaching a lesson, the teacher should assist students in making those connections by emphasizing similarities.
The idea of getting students to dig deeper into conceptual issues and to think about why and how learning is taking place should become a habit and come naturally to them.
Understanding the differences between concepts or principles could help minimize negative transfer. Sometimes it is best to highlight the differences between concepts by introducing them at the same time
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class. When classroom-management strategies are executed effectively, teachers minimize the behaviours that impede learning for both individual students and groups of students, while maximizing the behaviours that facilitate or enhance learning. Generally speaking, effective teachers tend to display strong classroom-management skills, while the hallmark of the inexperienced or less effective teacher is a disorderly classroom filled with students who are not working or paying attention.
While a limited or more traditional interpretation of effective classroom management may focus largely on “compliance”—rules and strategies that teachers may use to make sure students are sitting in their seats, following directions, listening attentively, etc.—a more encompassing or updated view of classroom management extends to everything that teachers may do to facilitate or improve student learning, which would include such factors as behavior (a positive attitude, happy facial expressions, encouraging statements, the respectful and fair treatment of students, etc.), environment (for example, a welcoming, well-lit classroom filled with intellectually stimulating learning materials that’s organized to support specific learning activities),
expectations (the quality of work that teachers expect students to produce, the ways that teachers expect students to behave toward other students, the agreements that teachers make with students), materials (the types of texts, equipment, and other learning resources that teachers use), or activities (the kinds of learning experiences that teachers design to engage student interests, passions, and intellectual curiosity). Given that poorly designed lessons, uninteresting learning materials, or unclear expectations, for example, could contribute to greater student disinterest, increased behavioral problems, or unruly and disorganized classes, classroom management cannot be easily separated from all the other decisions that teachers make.
BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Behavioural management is a method of behavioural modification which focuses on maintaining order. It is less severe than structured behavior modification and is focused on shaping and maintaining positive behaviours while discouraging negative behaviours. An example of this is the ways in which teachers manage the behaviour of students in their classrooms through rules, schedules, and consequences
PIAGET’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
To understand adult morality, Piaget believed that it was necessary to study both how morality manifests in the child’s world as well as the factors that contribute to the emergence of central moral concepts such as welfare, justice, and rights. By interviewing children, Piaget (1965) found that young children were focused on authority mandates and that with age, children become autonomous, evaluating actions from a set of independent principles of morality.
He developed two phases of moral development, one common among children and the other common among adults.
Heteronomous Phase
The first is the Heteronomous Phase. This phase, more common among children, is characterized by the idea that rules come from authority figures in one’s life, such as parents, teachers, and God. It also involves the idea that rules are permanent no matter what. Thirdly, this phase of moral development includes the belief that “naughty” behavior must always be punished and that the punishment will be proportional. This absolutism in moral development is seen in children’s play from the age of 5, where they exhibit a blind belief in the rules and ideas of right and wrong passed to them by their elders.
Autonomous Phase
The second phase in Piaget’s theory of moral development is referred to as the Autonomous Phase. This phase is more common after one has matured and is no longer a child. In this phase, people begin to view the intentions behind actions as more important than their consequences. For instance, if a person who is driving swerves in order to not hit a dog and then knocks over a road sign, adults are likely to be less angry at the person than if he or she had done it on purpose just for fun. Even though the outcome is the same, people are more forgiving because of the good intention of saving the dog. This phase also includes the idea that people have different morals and that morality is not necessarily universal. People in the Autonomous Phase also believe rules may be broken under certain circumstances. For instance, Rosa Parks broke the law by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, which was against the law but something many people consider moral nonetheless. In this phase, people also stop believing in the idea of immanent justice.
KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) extended upon the foundation that Piaget built regarding moral and cognitive development. Kohlberg, like Piaget, was interested in moral reasoning. Moral reasoning does not necessarily equate to moral behavior. Holding a particular belief does not mean that our behavior will always be consistent with the belief. To develop this theory, Kohlberg posed moral dilemmas to people of all ages, and then he analyzed their answers to find evidence of their particular stage of moral development. After presenting people with this and various dilemmas, Kohlberg reviewed people’s responses and placed them in different stages of moral reasoning. According to Kohlberg, an individual progresses from the capacity for pre-conventional morality (before age 9) to the capacity for conventional morality (early adolescence), and toward attaining post-conventional morality (once formal operational thought is attained), which only a few fully achieve.
Moral Stages According to Kohlberg
Using a stage model similar to Piaget’s, Kohlberg proposed three levels, with six stages, of moral development. Individuals experience the stages universally and in sequence as they form beliefs about justice. He named the levels simply pre conventional, conventional, and post conventional.
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Pre conventional: Obedience and Mutual Advantage
The preconventional level of moral development coincides approximately with the preschool period of life and with Piaget’s preoperational period of thinking. At this age, the child is still relatively self-centred and insensitive to the moral effects of actions on others. The result is a somewhat short-sighted orientation to morality. Initially (Kohlberg’s Stage 1), the child adopts an ethics of obedience and punishment —a sort of “morality of keeping out of trouble.” The rightness and wrongness of actions are determined by whether actions are rewarded or punished by authorities, such as parents or teachers. If helping yourself to a cookie brings affectionate smiles from adults, then taking the cookie is considered morally “good.” If it brings scolding instead, then it is morally “bad.” The child does not think about why an action might be praised or scolded; in fact, says Kohlberg, he would be incapable, at Stage 1, of considering the reasons even if adults offered them.
Eventually, the child learns not only to respond to positive consequences but also learns how to produce them by exchanging favors with others. The new ability creates Stage 2, ethics of market exchange. At this stage, the morally “good” action is one that favors not only the child but another person directly involved. A “bad” action is one that lacks this reciprocity. If trading the sandwich from your lunch for the cookies in your friend’s lunch is mutually agreeable, then the trade is morally good; otherwise, it is not. This perspective introduces a type of fairness into the child’s thinking for the first time. However, it still ignores the larger context of actions—the effects on people not present or directly involved. In Stage 2, for example, it would also be considered morally “good” to pay a classmate to do another student’s homework—or even to avoid bullying—provided that both parties regard the arrangement as being fair.
Conventional: Conformity to Peers and Society
As children move into the school years, their lives expand to include a larger number and range of peers and (eventually) of the community as a whole. The change leads to conventional morality, which are beliefs based on what this larger array of people agree on—hence Kohlberg’s use of the term “conventional.” At first, in Stage 3, the child’s reference group are immediate peers, so Stage 3 is sometimes called the ethics of peer opinion. If peers believe, for example, that it is morally good to behave politely with as many people as possible, then the child is likely to agree with the group and to regard politeness as not merely an arbitrary social convention, but a moral “good.” This approach to moral belief is a bit more stable than the approach in Stage 2 because the child is taking into account the reactions not just of one other person, but of many. But it can still lead astray if the group settles on beliefs that adults consider morally wrong, like “Shoplifting for candy bars is fun and desirable.”
Eventually, as the child becomes a youth and the social world expands, even more, he or she acquires even larger numbers of peers and friends. He or she is, therefore, more likely to encounter disagreements about ethical issues and beliefs. Resolving the complexities lead to Stage 4, the ethics of law and order, in which the young person increasingly frames moral beliefs in terms of what the majority of society believes. Now, an action is morally good if it is legal or at least customarily approved by most people, including people whom the youth does not know personally. This attitude leads to an even more stable set of principles than in the previous stage, though it is still not immune from ethical mistakes. A community or society may agree, for example, that people of a certain race should be treated with deliberate disrespect or that a factory owner is entitled to dump wastewater into a commonly shared lake or river. To develop ethical principles that reliably avoid mistakes like these require further stages of moral development.
Post conventional: Social Contract and Universal Principles
As a person becomes able to think abstractly (or “formally,” in Piaget’s sense), ethical beliefs shift from acceptance of what the community does believe to the process by which community beliefs are formed. The new focus constitutes Stage 5, the ethics of social contract. Now an action, belief, or practice is morally good if it has been created through fair, democratic processes that respect the rights of the people affected. Consider, for example, the laws in some areas that require motorcyclists to wear helmets. In what sense are the laws about this behavior ethical? Was it created by consulting with and gaining the consent of the relevant people? Were cyclists consulted, and did they give consent? Or how about doctors or the cyclists’ families? Reasonable, thoughtful individuals disagree about how thoroughly and fairly these consultation processes should be. In focusing on the processes by which the law was created; however, individuals are thinking according to Stage 5, the ethics of social contract, regardless of the position they take about wearing helmets. In this sense, beliefs on both sides of a debate about an issue can sometimes be morally sound, even if they contradict each other.
Paying attention to due process certainly seems like it should help to avoid mindless conformity to conventional moral beliefs. As an ethical strategy, though, it too can sometimes fail. The problem is that an ethics of social contract places more faith in the democratic process than the process sometimes deserves, and does not pay enough attention to the content of what gets decided. In principle (and occasionally in practice), a society could decide democratically to kill off every member of a racial minority, but would deciding this by due process make it ethical? The realization that ethical means can sometimes serve unethical ends leads some individuals toward Stage 6, the ethics of self-chosen, universal principles. At this final stage, the morally good action is based on personally held principles that apply both to the person’s immediate life as well as to the larger community and society. The universal principles may include a belief in democratic due process (Stage 5 ethics), but also other principles, such as a belief in the dignity of all human life or the sacredness of the natural environment. At Stage 6, the universal principles will guide a person’s beliefs even if the principles mean occasionally disagreeing with what is customary (Stage 4) or even with what is legal (Stage 5).
CREATIVE APPROACHES AND STRATEGIES TO CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT OF EARLY ADOLESCENTS.
Consequences or Punishments
The first behaviour management technique involves giving consequences or punishments. Students need to understand there are consequences that flow from the way they behave. Sometimes, consequences:
Flow naturally (e.g. you have no hat so you can’t play in the sun)
Include formal punishments
While punishments should be a last resort, you must deal with repetitive and serious misbehaviour.
Punishments can include time-outs, working by yourself, detentions and alike. Yet, no matter which specific punishment you use it is critical that you keep it proportional to the crime (Strategy 9 helps here). It is also important is that you explain the link between ‘the:
Student’s choice of behaviour
Consequences’ that follow
Emotional Objectivity
Managing misbehaviour can be an emotional ordeal. However, you have more impact when you remain cool, calm and collected. When you are composed, you can:
Keep things in perspective
Deal with them quickly
Get back to your main task – teaching your students
To help you do this, it is important to remember that students are people too – they want to have fun, and even difficult students are not all bad. Try not to take things personally, try to see the funny side of sticky situations and always be well organised.
Rules
The next behaviour management strategy involves setting rules. Establishing rules formalizes the expectations in your class. There are a few tricks to harnessing the full power of rules. You need to:
Keep the number of formal rules to a minimum
Explain the reason behind the rules
Frame the rules in a positive way, where possible but sometimes don’t … rules are appropriate
By limiting the number of rules, you help your students to remember them. And, your students do not feel overwhelmed.
Explaining the reason behind rules:
Helps students see them as being fair
Allows for some negotiation (e.g. can they modify the rule while still achieving your underlying goal).
And, framing the rules in a positive way clarifies what students are meant to do (not just what they aren’t allowed to do).
Routines
On average, students spend 15% of their class time following routine procedures. These procedures include things such as entering the classroom, getting books out and stopping work to pay attention to the teacher. You establish these routines at the start of the year, and in the words of behaviour management guru Bill Rogers, you establish, what you establish (i.e. it’s hard to change later). Your students are far less likely to misbehave during these routine actions when you have clarified your expectations and turned them into habitual ways of acting. Research shows most teachers state such expectations, but it is the teachers who get students to practice them (while correcting along the way) that succeed in turning them into habits.
Individual Reinforcement
Individual reinforcement involves rewarding the desirable behaviour and penalising the misbehaviour of individual students. Rewards can include tokens, such as points, stickers and alike. Yet, rewards can be as simple as good marks, comments to parents and praise. In a similar vein, students view penalties such as informing parents and discussions about their behaviour as being effective. Penalties are really a form of consequence (strategy 1) but tend to be less severe.
Research shows there is no ‘best’ ratio of positive to negative reinforcement. However, the same research also shows that the more genuine positive reinforcement you use, the better your students behave.
Group Reinforcement
Reinforcement involves rewarding good behaviour while discouraging undesirable behaviour. Group reinforcement involves rewarding or penalising whole groups. These may be small groups within the class, or the ‘entire class group’. For an example of small group reinforcement, you may reward one small group for being the first to be ready for the lesson with a point beside their group name, or you may penalise a small group for not focusing on their work by taking a point off them. As an example of ‘whole class’ reinforcement, you may elect to supervise the whole class for 5 minutes extra play if they are lined-up well and ready to go after their lunch break for 5 days in a row. Group reinforcement works well because of the pervasive power of peers. Yet, to be fair to individuals, penalties should either be tokens (e.g. taking a point off the group) or involve not receiving a reward.
Nip Small Problems in the Bud
Most misbehaviour can be dealt with quickly and easily. You can do this by correcting minor infringements on-the-spot and then moving on with the lesson. On-the-spot corrective actions include things such as: making eye contact with a student, moving closer to a student or group, reminding them of a relevant rule or simply telling them to get back to work. There are also some subtle but important tricks to the way you go about such corrections.
Structure Your Teaching
There are many aspects to good teaching, but some of them have more impact on classroom behaviour than others. When teaching a new class, or struggling to gain control of a tough class the following aspects of teaching are absolutely critical: clear lesson goals, never asking students to do something they don’t know how to do, judicious use of group work and holding them accountable for the work they have done (either as an individual or in a group).
With-It-Ness
Students are far less likely to misbehave when they know their teacher notices every little thing going on in the classroom. Students need to think that you have eyes in the back of your head. Start the year by setting up your room in a way that maximises visibility. Then, do simple things such as positioning yourself so you see all of your students, continuously scanning the room to see what is going on and limiting times when you have your back to the class can make a big difference. With-it-ness is also essential to the fourth behaviour management strategy in this list.
Teacher-Student Relationships
Teachers who have strong relationships with their students find it much easier to manage their students’ behaviour. You forge strong relationships by being both firm and caring – while also expecting your students to do their very best at school.
UNIT 5
NATURE, PRINCIPLES, AND TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
THE CONCEPT OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student learning to refine programs and improve student learning.
Assessment is the process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning.
Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students' learning and development.
Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development.
TEST
A test or quiz is used to examine someone's knowledge of something to determine what he or she knows or has learned. Testing measures the level of skill or knowledge that has been reached.
TYPES OF TEST
Diagnostic Testing
This testing is used to “diagnose” what a student knows and does not know. Diagnostic testing typically happens at the start of a new phase of education, like when students will start learning a new unit. The test covers topics students will be taught in the upcoming lessons.
Teachers use diagnostic testing information to guide what and how they teach. For example, they will plan to spend more time on the skills that students struggled with most on the diagnostic test. If students did particularly well on a given section, on the other hand, they may cover that content more quickly in class. Students are not expected to have mastered all the information in a diagnostic test.
Diagnostic testing can be a helpful tool for parents. The feedback my kids receive on these tests lets me know what kind of content they will be focusing on in class and lets me anticipate which skills or areas they may have trouble with.
Formative Testing
This type of testing is used to gauge student learning during the lesson. It is used throughout a lecture and designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate that they have understood the material, like in the example of the clock activity mentioned above. This informal, low-stakes testing happens in an ongoing manner, and student performance on formative testing tends to get better as a lesson progresses.
Schools normally do not send home reports on formative testing, but it is an important part of teaching and learning. If you help your children with their homework, you are likely using a version of formative testing as you work together.
For example, while watching my son, Luke, measure objects using inches and centimeters this week; I was able to see when he chose the wrong unit or when he did not start the measurement at the zero point on the tape measure. That was a form of formative testing. I find it helpful as a parent because it lets me correct any mistakes before they become habits for my sons.
Benchmark Testing
This testing is used to check whether students have mastered a unit of content. Benchmark testing is given during or after a classroom focuses on a section of material, and covers either a part or all of the content has been taught up to that time. The assessments are designed to let teachers know whether students have understood the material that’s been covered.
Unlike diagnostic testing, students are expected to have mastered material on benchmark tests, since they covers what the children have been focusing on in the classroom. Parents will often receive feedback about how their children have grasped each skill assessed on a benchmark test. This feedback is very important to me as a parent, since it gives me insight into exactly which concepts my boys did not master. Results are broken down by skills, so if I want to further review a topic with my boys, I can find corresponding lessons, videos, or games online, or ask their teachers for resources.
Summative Testing
This testing is used as a checkpoint at the end of the year or course to assess how much content students learned overall. This type of testing is similar to benchmark testing, but instead of only covering one unit, it cumulatively covers everything students have been spending time on throughout the year.
These tests are given — using the same process — to all students in a classroom, school, or state, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to perform at a level prescribed as the proficiency standard for the test.
Since summative tests cover the full range of concepts for a given grade level, they are not able to assess any one concept deeply. So, the feedback is not nearly as rich or constructive as feedback from a diagnostic or formative test. Instead, these tests serve as a final check that students learned what was expected of them in a given unit.
As a parent, I consider summative testing a confirmation about what I should already know about my sons’ performance. I don’t expect to be surprised by the results, given the regular feedback I have been given in the form of diagnostic, formative, and benchmark testing throughout the year.
Placement Tests
These tests are used to place students in the appropriate class or level. For example, in language schools, placement tests are used to check a student’s language level through grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking questions. After establishing the student’s level, the student is placed in the appropriate class to suit his/her needs.
Progress or Achievement Tests
Achievement or progress tests measure the students’ improvement in relation to their syllabus. These tests only contain items which the students have been taught in class. There are two types of progress tests: short-term and long-term.
Short-term progress tests check how well students have understood or learned material covered in specific units or chapters. They enable the teacher to decide if remedial or consolidation work is required.
Long-term progress tests are also called Course Tests because they check the learners’ progress over the entire course. They enable the students to judge how well they have progressed. Administratively, they are often the sole basis of decisions to promote to a higher level.
Progress tests can also be structured as quizzes, rather than as tests. They can be answered by teams of students, rather than individuals. They can be formulated as presentations, posters, assignments, or research projects. Structuring progress tests in this way takes into account the multiple intelligences and differing learning styles of the students. Yet many students still expect a “regular test” as a part of “normal learning”.
Proficiency Tests
These tests check learner levels in relation to general standards. They provide a broad picture of knowledge and ability. In English language learning, examples are the TOEFL and IELTS exams, which are mandatory for foreign-language speakers seeking admission to English-speaking universities. In addition, the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) checks students’ knowledge of Business English, as a prerequisite for employment.
Internal Tests
Internal tests are those given by the institution where the learner is taking the course. They are often given at the end of a course in the form of a final exam.
External Tests
External tests are those given by an outside body. Examples are the TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE and GMAT. The exams themselves are the basis for admission to university, job recruitment, or promotion.
Objective Tests
Objective tests are those that have clear right or wrong answers. Multiple-choice tests fall into this group. Students have to select a pre-determined correct answer from three or four possibilities.
Subjective Tests
Subjective tests require the marker or examiner to make a subjective judgment regarding the marks deserved. Examples are essay questions and oral interviews. For such tests, it is especially important that both examiner and student are aware of the grading criteria in order to increase their validity.
Combination Tests
Many tests are a combination of objective and subjective styles. For example, on the TOEFL iBT, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, the reading and listening sections are objective, and the writing and speaking sections are subjective.
MEASUREMENT
When one of the sets of numerals is assigned to each set of objects, be it person or commodity, as per the accepted rules or standards and described in standard words, units and symbols, so as to characterize the status of that object it is called as measurement. In education, measurement implies the quantitative assessment of the student’s performance in an exam.
It is a mechanical process, which involves the systematic study of the attributes with the help of appropriate assessment tools. It transforms the variable into variate, which is effective in making deductions. For instance, Intelligence is measured in terms of IQ, and the result variable is measured as scores.
Further, it is helpful in comparing the performance of various students as well as in highlighting their positive and negative points.
TYPES OF MEASUREMENT
Physical Measurement: The measurement of an object which materially exists, it is called as physical measurement. For instance, measurement of height or weight of an individual using a measuring tape or weighing machine, starting from zero points.
Mental Measurement: Otherwise called as psychological measurement. It is not defined in absolute terms, rather it is relative. It is not measured with the help of any instrument but on the basis of the individual’s response or critical observation. For instance, measuring the amount of work done by an individual is psychological or mental measurement.
EVALUATION
Evaluation can be defined as the act of assigning value to the measure. It is a systematic and continuous process wherein the analysis of the outcome derived from the measurement of the characteristic of the object, person or activity is performed as per the defined standards. Further, the relative position of the person, object or activity is ascertained, on the basis of the characteristic.
In evaluation, what we do is, we pass judgement regarding how suitable, desirable or valuable something is. In education, evaluation alludes to the overall assessment of the progress of the student, with respect to:
· Defined objectives
· Efficiency of teaching and
· Effectiveness of the curriculum.
It acts like an ‘inbuilt monitor’, within the system, that tends to review the learning progress, at various points in time. It also provides feedback on various aspects of the educational systems, such as on teaching to the teachers and on learning to the learners.
So we can conclude that:
Evaluation = Quantitative description + Qualitative Description + Value Judgement
Where, the quantitative description includes facts and figures and the qualitative description includes ranking, weightage and value.
Hence, in evaluation, the knowledge of the student/learner is not the only aspect which is considered; rather all the aspects which are important for his/her development are taken into consideration.
So, evaluation covers four different aspects, namely:
· Objectives
· Learning Experiences
· Learner’s appraisal
· Relationship between the above three
It aims at ascertaining the progress of the student, reforming the system of education and increasing the answerability for outcomes.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION
· Check out the point stated below, to understand the differences between measurement and evaluation:
· Measurement can be understood as the process of determining the attributes and dimensions of a physical object. On the other hand, evaluation is an ongoing process of measuring and assigning qualitative meaning, by passing value judgements.
· Measurement accounts for the observations which can be expressed numerically, i.e. quantitative observations. Conversely, evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative observations.
· Measurement entails the assignment of numerals to the person or object as per the certain rules. As against, evaluation involves the assignment of grades, level or symbols according to established standards.
· While measurement focuses on one or more attributes or traits of a person or object, evaluation covers all the aspects including cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning.
· Measurement analyses how much, how tall, how fast, how hot, how far or how small something is and that too in numerical terms. In contrast, evaluation answers how well something is which is done by adding meaning or value judgement to the measurement.
· With measurement, one cannot make logical assumptions about the learner, but this is not in the case of evaluation.
· Measurement consumes less time and energy as it uses tools or measuring devices, to serve the purpose. As against, evaluation requires observation and it passes value judgement, which consumes time and energy.
· When it comes to scope, measurement has a limited scope because it takes into account only a number of dimensions of personality or attribute. But, evaluation covers all the dimensions before passing value judgement. Moreover, the evaluation includes measurement. Hence, its scope is wider.
· Measurement is content-oriented whereas evaluation is objective oriented.
THE MEASUREMENT SCALE DESCRIPTIONS:
Nominal measurement scales refer to those measurements when the only meaningful results are the delineations that one thing is different from another. For example, if you have a bag of apples and a bucket of coal, the only measurement possible involves the nominal scale. All you can say is that one set is apples and the other set is coal. It is a measurement where the only conclusion you can reach is that one thing is different from another. Another way to consider the nominal measurement scale is to think of it as a basic classification system. It might also be worthwhile to take a look at the behavioural verb "classify." In the nominal scale you are essentially classifying by name. It is always a good idea to be as clear as possible when doing this.
Ordinal measurement scales refer to those measurements where the results indicate only that one thing is either greater or lesser than another. This always means a measurement that explicitly implies that the objects, events or processes and be placed into some order. The assigning of grades based on scores is an example of this scale, with, for example, the observation that a grade of "A" represents not only a different value than a grade of "C" but that it also represents a higher or greater value.
Interval measurement scales refer to those measurements where there are equal intervals between given values. Interval scales are used in almost every aspect of common measurement. A ruler employs an interval scale. That means that the distance between three inches and six inches is the same as the distance between nine inches and twelve inches. In a room thermometer, the difference in degrees between 72 Fahrenheit and 78 Fahrenheit is the same as that between 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 96 degrees. The intervals are the same.
Ratio measurement scales are the same as ordinal scales with one important difference. The difference is that ratio measurement scales contain a zero. the inclusion of a zero allows for negative values to be expressed in relation to a positive value. The most obvious and easily understood example of a ratio measurement scale is an outdoor thermometer. The intervals are equal, but whether Fahrenheit or Celsius, measurement values can be expressed as a negative, as in -10 degree Celsius.
So there in a nutshell you have it. Measurement always involves some sort of scale, and the observations linked to the measurements can be noted as a simple difference of name and thus a simple classification. One step up in complexity is the ordinal scale which implies the there is an order to the object or process, and one thing can be said to be not just different, but greater or lesser than another. The next up in complexity, the interval scale is the most frequently used for measurement and rests on the certainty of equal intervals between sequential points on the scale. Finally there are ratio scales, which are exactly like interval scales with the addition of a zero point.
This is provided to give a little perspective on the description of educational measurement.
PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT
Principles of assessment serve as guidelines to ensure that a test is useful, appropriate, effective, and plausible. These principles are crucial to be taken into consideration because assessment is an important aspect of educational process which determines the level of accomplishments of students.
There are five general principles of assessment:
· Practicality
· Reliability
· Validity
· Authenticity
· Wash back
Practicality
This principle refers to the time and cost constraints during the construction and administration of an assessment instrument. Meaning that the test should be economical to provide. The format of the test should be simple to understand. Moreover, solving a test should remain within suitable time. It is generally simple to administer. Its assessment procedure should be particular and time-efficient.
Reliability
The principle of reliability refers to the stability of scores over time and different raters. There are four types of reliability: student-related which can be personal problems, sickness, or fatigue, rater-related which includes bias and subjectivity, test administration-related which is the conditions of test taking process, test-related which is basically related to the nature of a test.
Validity
Validity refers to the tests that measure what it claims to measure.
· Content validity
· Criterion validity
· Construct validity
· Consequential validity
· Face validity
Authenticity
The assessment instrument is authentic when it is contextualized, contains natural language and meaningful, relevant, and interesting topic, and replicates real world experiences.
Wash back
This principle refers to the consequence of an assessment on teaching and learning within classrooms. Wash back can be positive and negative. Positive wash back refers to the desired effects of a test, while negative wash back refers to the negative consequences of a test. In order to have positive wash back, instructional planning can be used.
PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT
In your classroom, assessments generally have one of three purposes:
· Assessment of learning
· Assessment for learning
· Assessment as learning
Assessment of learning
Assessments are a way to find out what students have learned and if they’re aligning to curriculum or grade-level standards.
Assessments of learning are usually grade-based, and can include:
· Exams
· Portfolios
· Final projects
· Standardized tests
They have a concrete grade attached to them that communicates student achievement to teachers, parents, students, school-level administrators and district leaders.
Common types of assessment of learning include:
· Summative assessments
· Norm-referenced assessments
· Criterion-referenced assessments
Assessment for learning
Assessments for learning provide you with a clear snapshot of student learning and understanding as you teach -- allowing you to adjust everything from your classroom management strategies to your lesson plans as you go.
Assessments for learning should always be on going and actionable. When you’re creating assessments, keep these key questions in mind:
· What do students still need to know?
· What did students take away from the lesson?
· Did students find this lesson too easy? Too difficult?
· Did my teaching strategies reach students effectively?
· What are students most commonly misunderstanding?
· What did I most want students to learn from this lesson? Did I succeed?
For now, just remember these assessments aren’t only for students -- they’re to provide you with actionable feedback to improve your instruction.
Common types of assessment for learning include formative assessments and diagnostic assessments.
Assessment as learning
Assessment as learning actively involves students in the learning process. It teaches critical thinking skills, problem-solving and encourages students to set achievable goals for themselves and objectively measure their progress.
They can help engage students in the learning process, too! One study found:
“Students develop an interest in mathematical tasks that they understand, see as relevant to their own concerns, and can manage. Recent studies of students’ emotional responses to mathematics suggest that both their positive and their negative responses diminish as tasks become familiar and increase when tasks are novel”
Some examples of assessment as learning include ipsative assessments, self-assessments and peer assessments.
TYPES OF ASSESSMENT
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Summative assessment aims to evaluate student learning and academic achievement at the end of a term, year or semester by comparing it against a universal standard or school benchmark. Summative assessments often have a high point value, take place under controlled conditions, and therefore have more visibility.
Summative assessment examples:
· End-of-term or midterm exams
· Cumulative work over an extended period such as a final project or creative portfolio
· End-of-unit or chapter tests
· Standardised tests that demonstrate school accountability are used for pupil admissions; SATs, GCSEs and A-Levels
Why is summative assessment important for learning?
In the current education system, standard-driven instruction plays a significant role. Summative assessment, therefore, provides an essential benchmark to check the progress of students, institutions and the educational program of the country as a whole.
Summative assessment contributes largely towards improving the British curriculum and overall curriculum planning. When summative assessment data indicates gaps across the board between student knowledge and learning targets, schools may turn to improved curriculum planning and new learning criteria to assess and improve their school attainment levels.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Formative assessment is more diagnostic than evaluative. It is used to monitor pupil learning style and ability, to provide ongoing feedback and allow educators to improve and adjust their teaching methods and for students to improve their learning.
Most formative assessment strategies are quick to use and fit seamlessly into the instruction process. The information gathered is rarely marked or graded. Descriptive feedback may accompany formative assessment to let students know whether they have mastered an outcome or whether they require more practice.
Formative assessment examples:
· Impromptu quizzes or anonymous voting
· Short comparative assessments to see how pupils are performing against their peers
· One-minute papers on a specific subject matter
· Lesson exit tickets to summarise what pupils have learnt
· Silent classroom polls
WHY IS FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IMPORTANT FOR LEARNING?
Formative assessment is a flexible and informal way of assessing a pupil’s progress and their understanding of a certain subject matter. It may be recorded in a variety of ways, or may not be recorded at all, except perhaps in lesson planning to address the next steps.
Formative assessment helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work. It also helps educators and governors recognise where students are struggling and address problems immediately. At a school level, SMT and school leaders use this information to identify areas of strength and weakness across the institution, and to develop strategies for improvement.
As the learning journey progresses, further formative assessments indicate whether teaching plans need to be revised to reinforce or extend learning.
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
Another type of assessment, which is given at the beginning of the course or the beginning of the unit/topic, is known as diagnostic assessment. This assessment is used to collect data on what students already know about the topic. Diagnostic assessments are sets of written questions (multiple choice or short answer) that assess a learner’s current knowledge base or current views on a topic/issue to be studied in the course. The goal is to get a snapshot of where students currently stand - intellectually, emotionally or ideologically - allowing the instructor to make sound instructional choices as to how to teach the new course content and what teaching approach to use.
They are often used pre- and post-instruction, where students are given identical pre- and post-tests before and after the course. This method allows instructors and students to chart their learning progress by comparing pre- and post-tests results. Some disciplines, such as physics, have developed a set of diagnostic tests such as Force Concept Inventory opens in new window that can be used by instructors.
When you structure diagnostic assessments around your lesson, you’ll get the information you need to understand student knowledge and engage your whole classroom.
Some examples to try include:
· Mind maps
· Flow charts
· KWL charts
· Short quizzes
· Journal entries
· Student interviews
· Student reflections
· Graphic organizers
· Classroom discussions
Diagnostic assessments can also help benchmark student progress. Consider giving the same assessment at the end of the unit so students can see how far they’ve come!
CHARACTERISTICS, MERITS AND DEMERITS OF CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
Continuous assessment is a form of educational examination that evaluates a student's progress throughout a prescribed course. It is often used as an alternative to the final examination system. Proponents of continuous assessment argue that the approach allows tracking of progress and has a chance of offering students more support, guidance, and opportunities to improve during the course or programme.
CHARACTERISTICS
· Comprehensive
· Cumulative
· Diagnostic
· Formative
· Guidance-oriented
· Systematic in nature
ADVANTAGES
Continuous assessment can help students learn in the following ways:
1. Continuous assessment can provide early indications of the performance of students.
2. An increased sense of inclusiveness: Continuous assessment provides students with a constant stream of opportunities to prove their mastery of material and sends the message that everyone can succeed if given enough time and practice. This reduces the anxiety around testing and heightens the emphasis on the learning itself.
3. Higher learning standards for all: In a system of continuous assessment, advanced students can progress through material at their own pace and remain engaged by pursuing more challenging work as they master the basics.
DISADVANTAGES
1. Greater study pressure: Unlike the final exam system, students and teachers need to focus throughout a course or programme, as all work counts towards the final grade. This may cause learners to feel more stressed. Under the final exam system, students may "cram", or study for long hours, before the test in order to get a good grade. Thus, they only have to work hard for a shorter period.
2. Risk of plagiarism: As homework and assignments become more important, students may not feel secure just showing their own knowledge. Instead, they may plagiarize other's work in order to secure a better score.
STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT
In an educational setting, standards-based assessment is assessment that relies on the evaluation of student understanding with respect to agreed-upon standards, also known as "outcomes". The standards set the criteria for the successful demonstration of the understanding of a concept or skill.
OVERVIEW OF STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT
In the standards-based paradigm, students have the freedom to demonstrate understanding in diverse ways, including (but not limited to) selected response (e.g. multiple choice tests), physical constructions, written responses, and performances. Of course, these are not new types of assessments, nor is the concept of differentiated assessment. The teacher uses all available observations and quantitative information to summarize learning with reference to a specific standard. With these data, a teacher can formulate the steps or actions that can be taken to gain mastery of a particular concept. That is, it aids in assessment for learning.
One of the key aspects of standards-based assessment is post-assessment feedback. The feedback a student receives from this type of assessment does not emphasize a score, percentage, or statistical average, but information about the expectations of performance as compared to the standard. A standards-based approach does not necessarily dismiss a summative grade, percentage, or a measure of central tendency (such as a mean, or median). However, an assessment that does not reference or give feedback with respect to a standard would not be standards-based. There is a large body of evidence that points to the effectiveness of appropriate feedback.
PURPOSE OF STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT
The purpose of standards-based assessment is to connect evidence of learning to learning outcomes (the standards). When standards are explicit and clear, the learner becomes aware of his/her achievement with reference to the standards, and the teacher may use assessment data to give meaningful feedback to students about this progress. The awareness of one's own learning allows students to point to a specific standard of achievement and so strengthens self-regulation and meta-cognition, two skills generally understood to be effective learning strategies.
SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA)
School-based assessment (SBA) requires teachers to mark their students' work, and normally involves cooperation among teachers and schools to help ensure marking criteria comparability. In the case of public examinations, relationships between external and internal assessments can take a number of forms.
Assessment that facilitates attainment of competencies
Assessment embedded in the teaching and learning process within the broader educational philosophy of assessment for learning
Assessment of school students by school teachers iñ the schools.
SALIENT FEATURES OF SBA
· Integrate teaching learning and assessment
· No load on teachers’ documentation, recording, reports
· Child centred and activity based pedagogy
· Focus on competency development rather than content memorisation
· Broadening the scope of assessment by way of including self-assessment, peer assessment besides teacher assessment
· Nonthreatening stress free and enhanced participation/interaction
· Focus on assessment of/and/as learning rather than evaluation of achievement
· Reposting faith on teacher and the system
· Enhancing self confidence in children.
BENCHMARKING IN EDUCATION
How do we know if students are learning the right things at the right times? Is there even such a thing? Should high achievers set the standard for education? These are the main questions surrounding the practice of benchmarking in education.
Benchmarking in education occurs when measurable standards are set for learning. For example, benchmarks might be set for the concepts that must be mastered in each grade. They might also be used to see where a particular student, class, or even school ranks in comparison to others.
Now that we understand what benchmarking is, let's look at the reasons for using it.
UNIT 6
TAXONOMIES OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND ITEM FORMATS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning outcomes are descriptions of the specific knowledge, skills, or expertise that the learner will get from a learning activity, such as a training session, seminar, course, or program.
Learning outcomes are measurable achievements that the learner will be able to understand after the learning is complete, which helps learners understand the importance of the information and what they will gain from their engagement with the learning activity.
Creating clear, actionable learning outcomes is an important part of the creation of training programs in organizations. When developing these programs, both management and instructors need to be clear about what learners should understand after completing their learning path.
Learning outcomes also play a key role in assessment and evaluation, making clear what knowledge learners should have upon completion of the learning activity.
A well-written learning outcome will focus on how the learner will be able to apply their new knowledge in a real-world context, rather than on a learner being able to recite information.
The most useful learning outcomes include a verb that describes an observable action, a description of what the learner will be able to do and under which conditions they will be able to do it, and the performance level they should be able to reach.
TYPES OF LEARNING OUTCOMES
· Intellectual skills
With this type of learning outcome, the learner will understand concepts, rules or procedures. Put simply, this understands how to do something.
· Cognitive strategy
In this type of learning outcome, the learner uses personal strategies to think, organize, learn and behave.
· Verbal information
This type of learning outcome is when the learner is able to definitively state what they have learned from an organized body of knowledge.
· Motor skills
This category is concerned with the physical ability to perform actions, achieving fluidity, smoothness or proper timing through practice.
· Attitude
This is the internal state that reflects in the learner’s behaviour. It is complex to quantify but can be shown in the learner’s response to people or situations.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
Before training is designed, instructional designers first identify the instructional objectives of the course. Instructional objectives are measurable terms that describe what learners will be able to do after the instruction. It is essential to have clearly outlined instructional objectives to make sure that what is taught in the courses matches the intended outcome. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. is used to remember the guideline for writing clear objectives.
Writing S.M.A.R.T. Objectives
To be effective, instructional objectives should be:
Specific. Instructional objectives should precisely describe what is expected of a learner. For example, the learner will be able to deal with irritable customers, which is not a specific objective. This could be made better by stating how the learner will deal with the irritable customer.
Measurable. A measurable instructional objective is one that can be observed or one that generates data points. For example, the learner will apply compassion skills to handle irritable customers and log and report the outcome of each call by the end of the month. The learner’s log offers data about how the customers reacted to the technique.
Attainable. Learners cannot feel defeated by the intended outcomes of the learning objectives. Instructional objectives should not ask learners to prove themselves under unfeasible circumstances. Give learners ample time to prove their new skills. For example, in the objective above, the learner has one month to prove he or she is effectively exercising the new skills. This is ample time for the learner to do so.
Relevant. Most learners do not care about learning things that they cannot use right away. The information presented in the course and the outcomes should be relevant to their personal lives or day to day work.
Time-framed. Learners need a deadline for when they should achieve and demonstrate the use of the skillset. One month is the time-frame for the objective mentioned above. A learning objective that is not time-framed gives learners the false impression that they have an indefinite amount of time to learn the skill and apply it.
Bloom’s Taxonomy and Action Verbs
Bloom’s taxonomy is a hierarchical model of cognitive processes that boost learning outcomes. They are:
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Synthesizing
Evaluating
A newer version of Bloom’s taxonomy developed for 21st-century learners has swapped synthesizing for evaluating and replaced evaluating with creating. Both are used by instructional designers to structure curriculum instructional objectives.
Bloom’s taxonomy action verb lists are also helpful when writing instructional objectives. For example, one list uses the verb “summarize” to describe an activity that reinforces comprehension. A verb that describes an evaluation activity is “critique.” Using these verb lists helps instructional designers generate measurable learning objectives quickly while adhering to the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines.
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES
A behavioural objective is a learning outcome stated in measurable terms, which gives direction to the learner’s experience and becomes the basis for student evaluation.
Objectives may vary in several respects. They may be general or specific, concrete or abstract, cognitive, affective, or psychomotor. Cognitive objectives emphasize intellectual outcomes, such as knowledge, understanding, and thinking skills. Affective objectives emphasize feeling and emotion, such as interests, values, attitudes, appreciation, and methods of adjustment. Psychomotor objectives emphasize motor skills, such as physical assessment skills and administration of chemotherapy.
Points in writing behavioural objectives:
Begin each behavioural objective with a verb. The critical aspect of any behavioral objective is the verb selected to indicate expected behavior from learning activities.
State each objective in terms of learner performance. A behavioral objective is one that is considered to be observable and measurable. Behavior is generally construed to be an action of an individual that can be seen, felt, or heard by another person.
State each objective so that it includes only one general learning outcome.
Examples of objectives
At the graduate level of nursing education, it is expected that learning objectives will be general, abstract, and cognitive or affective. Examples of appropriate objectives for graduate students are as follows:
· Cognitive: Create an assessment tool based on a nursing theory for patients experiencing pain.
· Cognitive: Evaluate the usefulness of nursing research in clinical practice.
· Affective: Accept professional responsibility for change in problem clinical situations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Learning objectives are statements that define the expected goal of a curriculum, course, lesson or activity in terms of demonstrable skills or knowledge that will be acquired by a student as a result of instruction. Learning objectives can be tied to competence maps Also known as: Instructional objectives, learning outcomes, learning goals.
Learning outputs, i.e. student productions are different. They allow follow-up (e.g. formative feedback) and measuring if learning objectives are met.
In education, learning objectives are brief statements that describe what students will be expected to learn by the end of school year, course, unit, lesson, project, or class period. In many cases, learning objectives are the interim academic goals that teachers establish for students who are working toward meeting more comprehensive learning standards.
While educators use learning objectives in different ways to achieve a variety of instructional goals, the concept is closely related to learning progressions or the purposeful sequencing of academic expectations across multiple developmental stages, ages, or grade levels. Learning objectives are a way for teachers to structure, sequence, and plan out learning goals for a specific instructional period, typically for the purpose of moving students toward the achievement of larger, longer-term educational goals such as meeting course learning expectations, performing well on a standardized test, or graduating from high school prepared for college. For these reasons, learning objectives are a central strategy in proficiency-based learning, which refers to systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating understanding of the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn before they progress to the next lesson, get promoted to the next grade level, or receive a diploma (learning objectives that move students progressively toward the achievement of academic standards may be called performance indicators or performance benchmarks, among other terms).
Learning objectives are also increasingly being used in the job-performance evaluations of teachers, and the term student learning objectives is commonly associated with this practice in many states. For a more detailed discussion, including relevant reforms and debates on the topic, see value-added measures and student-growth measures.
Learning objectives are also a way to establish and articulate academic expectations for students so they know precisely what is expected of them. When learning objectives are clearly communicated to students, the reasoning goes, students will be more likely to achieve the presented goals. Conversely, when learning objectives are absent or unclear, students may not know what’s expected of them, which may then lead to confusion, frustration, or other factors that could impede the learning process.
While the terminology, structure, and use of learning objectives can differ significantly from state to state or school to school, the following are a few of the major forms that learning objectives take:
School-year or grade-level objectives: In this case, learning objectives may be synonymous with learning standards, which are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Grade-level learning objectives describe what students should achieve academically by the end of a particular grade level or grade span (terms such as grade-level indicators or grade-level benchmarks may be used in reference to these learning objectives or standards).
Course or program objectives: Teachers may also determine learning objectives for courses or other academic programs, such as summer-school sessions or vacation-break programs. In this case, the objectives may be the same academic goals described in learning standards (in the case of a full-year course, for example), or they may describe interim goals (for courses that are shorter in duration).
Unit or project objectives: Teachers may determine learning objectives for instructional units, which typically comprise a series of lessons focused on a specific topic or common theme, such as an historical period, for example. In the case of project-based learning—an instructional approach that utilizes multifaceted projects as a central organizing strategy for educating students—teachers may determine learning objectives for the end of long-term project rather than a unit.
Lesson or class-period objectives: Teachers may also articulate learning objectives for specific lessons that compose a unit, project, or course, or they may determine learning objectives for each day they instruct students (in this case, the term learning target is often used). For example, teachers may write a set of daily learning objectives on the blackboard, or post them to an online course-management system, so that students know what the learning expectations are for a particular class period. In this case, learning objectives move students progressively toward meeting more comprehensive learning goals for a unit or course.
In practice, teachers will commonly express learning objectives in different ways to achieve different instructional goals, or to encourage students to think about the learning process is a specific way. While the minutia and nuances of pedagogical strategy are beyond the scope of this resource, the following are a few common ways that learning objectives may be framed or expressed by teachers:
· Descriptive statements: Learning objectives may be expressed as brief statements describing what students should know or be able to do by the end of a defined instructional period. For example: Explain how the Constitution establishes the separation of powers among the three branches of the United States government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and articulate the primary powers held by each branch. State learning standards, which may comprise a variety of learning objectives, are commonly expressed as descriptive statements.
· “I can” statements: Teachers may choose to express learning objectives as “I can” statements as a way to frame the objectives from a student standpoint. The basic idea is that “I can” statements encourage students to identify with the learning goals, visualize themselves achieving the goals, or experience a greater sense of personal accomplishment when the learning objectives are achieved. For example: I can explain how the Constitution establishes the separation of powers among the three branches of the United States government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and I can articulate the primary powers held by each branch.
· “Students will be able to” statements: “Students will be able to” statements are another commonly used format for learning objectives, and the abbreviation SWBAT may be used in place of the full phrase. For example: SWBAT explain how the Constitution establishes the separation of powers among the three branches of the United States government—legislative, executive, and judicial—and articulate the primary powers held by each branch.
LEARNING DOMAINS
In 1956, educational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Bloom created a system to classify learning objectives into a series of learning domains that encourage teachers to think holistically about education. His system came to be known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Much has been written about it, and it has been widely applied, including here at Davenport.
Bloom identified three domains, or categories, of educational activities:
· Cognitive Knowledge or Mental Skills
· Affective Attitude or Emotions
· Psychomotor Skills or Physical Skills
When these learning domain ideas are applied to learning environments, active verbs are used to describe the kind of knowledge and intellectual engagement we want our students to demonstrate.
COGNITIVE KNOWLEDGE
The Cognitive Domain develops six areas of intellectual skills that build sequentially from simple to complex behaviours.
Bloom arranged them this way:
· Knowledge (recall of information)
· Comprehension (understanding of meaning)
· Application (use of concept)
· Analysis (deconstruction of concept)
· Synthesis (combination of information to create meaning)
· Evaluation (judgment of concept)
In time, this arrangement evolved into what we now call Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Category names were changed from nouns to verbs, but are still ordered from simple to complex:
· Remembering
· Understanding
· Applying
· Analysing
· Evaluating
· Creating
AFFECTIVE ATTITUDE
The Affective Domain includes five areas of emotional response, categorized as simple to complex ways of processing feelings and attitude. Bloom arranged them this way:
· Receiving (passively paying attention)
· Responding (actively learning and reacting)
· Valuing (attaching worth to information)
· Organizing (arranging and elaborating on information)
· Characterizing (valuing belief that influences behaviour)
PSYCHOMOTOR SKILLS
The Psychomotor Domain, which focuses on physical skills, was identified, but not defined, by Dr. Bloom. His original ideas were expanded by 1970s educators, including Dr. Elizabeth Simpson, who developed them in this simple-to-complex order:
Perception (sensory guiding of motor activity)
Set (feeling ready to act)
Guided Response (beginning to learn complex skills)
Mechanism (developing basic proficiency)
Complex Overt Response (performing with advanced skill)
Adaptation (modifying movement to meet special circumstances)
Origination (creating situation-specific movements)
PROFILE DIMENSION
A Profile Dimension refers to the description or measurement of the underlying behaviour for teaching, learning and assessment.
Profile refers to the description or representation or outline of a piece of information.
A Dimension refers to a measurement or measurable extent.
The Profile Dimensions.
During the teaching and learning process certain things must come into play for assessment to be reasonable. Teaching goes on to get the learner to know and understand and then through understanding, make use of the knowledge. Making use of the knowledge is known as Application.
The Profile Dimensions specified for teaching, learning and assessments in the basic schools are
· Knowledge
· Understanding and
· Application, which is the use of the knowledge.
WEIGHTINGS OF PROFILE DIMENSIONS
The Syllabus recommends a percentage weight that should be reflected in each of the dimensions and skills needed for leaning, teaching and testing. This weighting guides a teacher as to which skills should be emphasized for every aspect of learning, teaching and assessment.
In English Language, two Profile Dimensions are used with the four basic language skills in learning, teaching and assessment.
Knowledge, classified as the most basic dimension, is linked up to understanding to form one compound profile dimension and the use of Knowledge (Application) is the other dimension.
Profile Dimension | Receptive Skills | Productive Skills | Total | ||
Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
| |
Knowledge and Understanding | 10 | 30 | – | – | 40 |
Use of knowledge | – | – | 30 | 30 | 60 |
Total | 10 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 100 |
TYPES OF OBJECTIVE TESTS
Three common types of objective test items are multiple-choice, true-false, and matching. The term “objective” is used because the answers for these types of test items are either right or wrong and require no interpretation or judgment on the part of the scorer as is the case with subjective tests like essays. Your answers either match the answers on the answer key or they don’t.
For multiple-choice test items, you must read a question or an incomplete statement and select the best answer from a set of possible choices. For true-false test items, you must read a statement and decide if the statement is “true” (accurate/correct) or “false” (inaccurate/incorrect). For matching test items, you must find the relationship and pair together information given in two columns or lists. Generally, studying for objective tests requires focusing on main ideas and details.
ESSAY TEST
The essay tests are still commonly used tools of evaluation, despite the increasingly wider applicability of the short answer and objective type questions.
There are certain outcomes of learning (e.g., organising, summarising, integrating ideas and expressing in one’s own way) which cannot be satisfactorily measured through objective type tests. The importance of essay tests lies in the measurement of such instructional outcomes.
An essay test may give full freedom to the students to write any number of pages. The required response may vary in length. An essay type question requires the pupil to plan his own answer and to explain it in his own words. The pupil exercises considerable freedom to select, organise and present his ideas. Essay type tests provide a better indication of pupil’s real achievement in learning. The answers provide a clue to nature and quality of the pupil’s thought process.
That is, we can assess how the pupil presents his ideas (whether his manner of presentation is coherent, logical and systematic) and how he concludes. In other words, the answer of the pupil reveals the structure, dynamics and functioning of pupil’s mental life.
The essay questions are generally thought to be the traditional type of questions which demand lengthy answers. They are not amenable to objective scoring as they give scope for halo-effect, inter-examiner variability and intra-examiner variability in scoring.
TYPES OF ESSAY TEST:
Some of these are given below with examples from different subjects:
1.Selective Recall.
E.g. what was the religious policy of Akbar?
2.Evaluative Recall.
E.g. why did the First War of Independence in 1857 fail?
3.Comparison of two things—on a single designated basis.
e.g. Compare the contributions made by Dalton and Bohr to Atomic theory.
4.Comparison of two things—in general.
e.g. Compare Early Vedic Age with the Later Vedic Age.
5.Decision—for or against.
e.g. Which type of examination do you think is more reliable? Oral or Written. Why?
6.Causes or effects.
e.g. Discuss the effects of environmental pollution on our lives.
7.Explanation of the use or exact meaning of some phrase in a passage or a sentence.
e.g., Joint Stock Company is an artificial person. Explain ‘artificial person’ bringing out the concepts of Joint Stock Company.
8.Summary of some unit of the text or of some article.
9.Analysis
e.g. What was the role played by Mahatma Gandhi in India’s freedom struggle?
10.Statement of relationship.
e.g. Why is knowledge of Botany helpful in studying agriculture?
11.Illustration or examples (your own) of principles in science, language, etc.
e.g. Illustrate the correct use of subject-verb position in an interrogative sentence.
12.Classification.
e.g. Classify the following into Physical change and Chemical change with explanation. Water changes to vapour; Sulphuric Acid and Sodium Hydroxide react to produce Sodium Sulphate and Water; Rusting of Iron; Melting of Ice.
13.Application of rules or principles in given situations.
e.g. If you sat halfway between the middle and one end of a sea-saw, would a person sitting on the other end have to be heavier or lighter than you in order to make the sea-saw balance in the middle. Why?
14.Discussion.
e.g. Partnership is a relationship between persons who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all. Discuss the essentials of partnership on the basis of this partnership.
15.Criticism—as to the adequacy, correctness, or relevance—of a printed statement or a classmate’s answer to a question on the lesson.
e.g. What is the wrong with the following statement?
The Prime Minister is the sovereign Head of State in India.
16.Outline.
e.g. Outline the steps required in computing the compound interest if the principal amount, rate of interest and time period are given as P, R and T respectively.
17.Reorganization of facts.
e.g. The student is asked to interview some persons and find out their opinion on the role of UN in world peace. In the light of data thus collected he/she can reorganise what is given in the text book.
18.Formulation of questions-problems and questions raised.
e.g. After reading a lesson the pupils are asked to raise related problems- questions.
19.New methods of procedure
e.g. Can you solve this mathematical problem by using another method?
UNIT 7
PLANNING CLASSROOM TESTS AND ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES FOR INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS
ACHIEVEMENT TEST
An Achievement test is an assessment of developed knowledge or skill. The most common type of achievement test is a standardized test, such as the SAT, required for college entry in the United States. Achievement tests are developed to measure skills and knowledge learned in a given grade level, usually through planned instruction, such as training or classroom instruction. Achievement tests are often contrasted with aptitude tests.
Achievement test refer to assessments which scores are often used to determine the level of instruction for which a student is prepared. High achievement scores generally indicate that a level of mastery of grade-level material has been reached, and that the student is prepared for advanced instruction. Conversely, low achievement scores can indicate the need for further remediation or repeating a course grade level.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS:
1. The content of these tests is as per the students’ level, abilities, interests and aptitudes.
2. The test items in these tests are objective, so there is no question of awarding partial marks.
3. These tests are discriminating besides being reliable and valid.
4. These tests are very economical from the standpoint of money, time and energy.
5. The purpose of these tests is predetermined.
6. These tests are useful from the practical viewpoint.
7. These tests have a wide content.
8. These tests possess all characteristics of standardized tests, such as scoring key, manual of
instructions, norms etc. All these are prepared in advance and are got printed in the form of a
booklet.
9. These tests are made separately for different classes.
10. The scoring, time limit etc of these tests are determined before their administration.
11. The number of questions in these tests is large, so there is no question of chance factor.
12. The results of these tests provide such material to a teacher by which he can construct his entire
instructional plan.
TYPES OF ACHIEVEMENT TEST:
Achievement tests can be of various categories basing on form, purpose, time, method and subject area. Achievement test can be of different forms like oral test, written test and practical test. Items of achievement test can be essay type questions or short answer questions or objective type of questions or combination of all these types.
Achievement test may be of different types on the basis of the purpose for which it is administered. They are diagnostic tests, prognostic test, accuracy test, power test, spit test etc. Achievement tests can be administered in different period of time. When it is based on time or period factor, the test is summative test, daily test, weekly test, fortnightly test, monthly test, quarterly test, half yearly test, annual test or final examination at the end of course of study of an academic year.
On the basis of content or subject matter, achievement tests are categorized as language test, reading test, spelling test, history test, geography test, mathematic test, science test etc. Broadly speaking, all these achievement tests can be divided into two on the basis of quality that is standardized test and teacher made test. Here let us have a discussion on the objective type of achievement test.
The traditional system of examination or the essay type of examination has come under heavy fire. Students reject it because of its heavy strength or pressure. The parents criticize it because of its injurious effect on the physical and mental health of children.
The teachers complain because of its harmful effect on school work. The practical psychologist speaks ill of it because of its unreliability and invalidity and the educational theorist attacks it because it lacks definiteness in aim and purpose.
To remove some of the evils of the essay type examinations, objective tests seem to be very useful. Modern educationists give much stress on this type of tests to supplement the traditional type of tests. The All India Council for Secondary Education has set up an “evaluation unity.”
Many workshops and seminars have been organised during the past 10 years with a view to preparing new type tests. The services of Dr. Bloom of America, an expert in evaluation were secured for some time for the purpose of popularizing the new type of tests and given training to a large number of teachers in the use of these tests.
ASSEMBLING, ADMINISTERING AND APPRAISING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
GUIDELINES FOR ASSEMBLING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
1. Review test items and assessment tasks. Where possible, fellow teachers or colleagues can review the test items or tasks. The following points should be considered.
2. Test format should be appropriate for the learning outcome being measured.
3. Knowledge, understanding or thinking skill required by the item or task should match the specific learning outcome and subject-matter content being measured.
· The item or task should not be excessively wordy.
1. The point of the item or task as well as the desired response should be clear.
2. A scoring rubric or scoring guide should be available.
3. The item or task should be free from technical errors and irrelevant clues.
· The item or task should be free from racial, ethnic and gender bias.
2. Test items should be typed or written neatly. Writing items on the chalkboard or dictating them must be done with utmost care since it may cause problems for students especially those with visual, listening comprehension or hearing problems.
3. Arranging test items.
· Items should be sequenced (especially objective-type tests) such that they appear in the order of difficulty with the easiest ones placed first.
· Items should also be arranged in sections by item-type. The sections should progress from easier formats to more difficult formats. Within each section, group items such that the easier ones come first. For example, all true-false items should be grouped together, then all matching items and so on.
· Items can also be arranged according to the order in which they are taught in class or the order in which the content appeared in the textbook.
· Sequencing is not necessary for essay-type tests where optional choices are made. All items of this nature should however equal difficulty levels.
4. Provide directions to students. Directions should include the amount of time allowed to complete the test, where and how answers should be written, number of points for each test item, what should be done about guessing (on selection-type items). Each item format should have a specific set of directions.
5. Reproducing the test.
· Items must be spaced and arranged so that they can be read and scored (for objective-type tests) with the least amount of difficulty. Cramming too many tests on to a page is poor economy.
· Multiple-choice items should have the alternatives listed vertically below the stem of the item rather than across the page.
· Items should not be split with parts of the item on two different pages. All items should be numbered consecutively.
· All illustrative material should be clear, legible and accurate.
· Proofread the entire test or assessment before it is finally reproduced.
GUIDELINES IN ADMINISTERING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
1. Prepare students for the test. The following information is essential to students’ maximum performance.
· When the test will be given (date and time).
· Under what conditions it will be given (timed or take-home, number of items, open book or closed book, place of test).
· The content areas it will cover (study questions or a list of learning targets).
· Emphasis or weighting of content areas (value in points).
· The kinds of items on the test (objective-types or essay-type tests).
· How the assessment will be scored and graded.
· The importance of the results of the test.
2. Students must be made aware of the rules and regulations covering the conduct of the test. Penalties for malpractice such as cheating should be clearly spelt out and clearly adhered to.
3. Avoid giving tests immediately before or after a long vacation, holidays or other important events where all students are actively involved physically or psychologically/emotionally.
4. Avoid giving tests when students would normally be doing something pleasant e.g. having lunch etc.
5. The sitting arrangement must allow enough space so that pupils will not copy each others work.
6. Adequate ventilation and lighting is expected in the testing room.
7. Provision must be made for extra answer sheets and writing materials.
8. Pupils should start the test promptly and stop on time.
9. Announcements must be made about the time at regular intervals. Time left for the completion of the test should be written on the board where practicable.
10. Invigilators are expected to stand a point where they could view all students. They should once a while move among the pupils to check on malpractices. Such movements should not disturb the pupils. He/she must be vigilant. Reading novels, newspapers, grading papers are not allowed.
11. Threatening behaviours should be avoided by the invigilators. Speeches like ‘If you don’t write fast, you will fail’ are threatening. Pupils should be made to feel at ease.
12. The testing environment should be free from distractions. Noise should be kept to a very low level if it cannot be eliminated or removed. Interruptions within and outside the classroom should be reduced. It is helpful to hang a “Do not DISTURB – TESTING IN PROGRESS” sign at the door.
13. Test anxiety should be minimized. .
· Things that create excessive anxiety are (1) warning students to do their best ‘because the test is important’, (2) telling students that they must work fast in order to finish on time, (3) threatening dire consequences if they fail, and (4) threatening students with tests if they do not behave.
· Teachers and invigilators should not walk around looking over students’ shoulders while they are responding to assessments.
· Before assessments, teachers should convey a sense of confidence about student’s performance in the upcoming assessment.
14. Do not talk unnecessarily before letting students start working. Remarks should be kept to a mi nimum and related to the test.
15. Avoid giving hints to students who ask about individual items. Where an item is ambiguous, it should be clarified for the entire group.
16. Expect and prepare for emergencies. Emergencies might include shortages of answer booklets, question papers, power outages, illness etc.
APPRAISING ACHIEVEMENT TESTS (ITEM ANALYSIS)
Item analysis is the process of collecting, summarizing, and using information from students’ responses to make decisions about each test item. It is designed to answer the following questions:
1. Did the item function as intended?
2. Were the test items of appropriate difficulty?
3. Were the test items free of irrelevant clues and other defects?
4. Was each of the distracters effective (in multiple-choice items)?
BENEFITS OF ITEM ANALYSIS
1. It helps to determine whether an item functions as intended. It provides information on whether an item assesses the intended learning targets, whether it is of the appropriate level of difficulty or whether it distinguishes between high achievers and low achievers and whether the options are working.
2. Item analysis data provide a basis for efficient class discussion of the test results. Difficult items can be identified and discussed. Misinformation and misunderstanding of distracters can be corrected.
3. Item analysis provides feedback to the teacher about pupil difficulties. It brings to light general areas of weakness that require more attention.
4. Item analysis data provide a basis for the general improvement of classroom instruction. It assists in evaluating the appropriateness of the learning outcomes and course content of the particular students being taught.
5. Item analysis procedures provide a basis for increased skill in test construction. Item analysis reveals ambiguities, clues, ineffective distracters and other technical defects that were missed during the test preparation. Information revealed provides experience for future writing of tests.
6. It helps to create item banks for use in future tests.
STEPS IN DOING ITEM ANALYSIS OF OBJECTIVE TESTS
1. Arrange the marked test papers from the highest score to the lowest score.
2. Create three groups – upper, middle and lower groups using the top 27% and the bottom 27% if the total number of students is more than 40. Where the number of students is between 20 and 40, select the top 10 students and the bottom 10 students. For fewer than 20 students, create only two groups.
3. For each item summarize the number of students in each of the upper and lower groups who selected each option.
4. Calculate the difficulty index , i.e the percentage of the total number of students who got the item correct. The difficult index by convention is written as a decimal.
5. Compute the discrimination index, i.e. the difference between the percentage of students in the upper and lower groups who got the item correct. The discrimination index is often written as a decimal fraction.
6. Evaluate the effectiveness of options for multiple-choice tests (distracter analysis).
· Every distracter should have at least one lower group student choosing it, and more lower group students than upper group students should choose it.
· Every correct option should be selected by more students in the upper group.
· Options are ambiguous if upper group students are unable to distinguish between the correct response and one or more of the distractors.
· If a large number of upper group students select a particular wrong response, check to be sure the answer key is correct.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
Authentic assessment is the measurement of "intellectual accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful,"[1] as contrasted with multiple-choice tests. Authentic assessment can be devised by the teacher, or in collaboration with the student by engaging student voice. When applying authentic assessment to student learning and achievement, a teacher applies criteria related to “construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and the value of achievement beyond the school.”
Authentic assessment tends to focus on contextualized tasks, enabling students to demonstrate their competency in a more 'authentic' setting. Examples of authentic assessment categories include:
· Performance of the skills, or demonstrating use of a particular knowledge
· Simulations and role plays
· Studio portfolios, strategically selecting items
According to Meg Ormiston, "Authentic learning mirrors the tasks and problem solving that are required in the reality outside of school."
This framework for assessment begins the same way curriculum design begins, with the question: What should students be able to do? Once the instructor answers that question, they can then devise a rubric to evaluate how well a student demonstrates the ability to complete the task. Because most authentic assessments require a judgment of the degree of quality, they tend toward the subjective end of the assessment scale. Rubrics are an "attempt to make subjective measurements as objective, clear, consistent, and as defensible as possible by explicitly defining the criteria on which performance or achievement should be judged."
PRINCIPLES FOR FAIR STUDENT ASSESSMENT PRACTICES FOR EDUCATION
The Fairness principle is based on the individual learner’s needs being considered during the RTO Assessment process.
So, how do RTOs make sure that their assessment process is fair?
The RTO is to make reasonable adjustments to account for the individual learner’s needs. It is important to note that the term 'reasonable adjustments' is used and remember that adjustments that would compromise the integrity of the training or create undue hardship for the RTO are not included within this parameter.
The RTO must also ensure that the learner has a clear understanding of the assessment process and is allowed to challenge the result of the assessment. The RTO Assessment tool should provide evidence that this has been explained to the learner and they understand and agree to this process. If required, the learner is permitted to be reassessed.
This principle aims to create an environment of equality and provide learners with access to training, and that those learners that require additional assistance are not disadvantaged in “Principles for Fair Assessment Practices for Education in Canada” is easily accessible and has many guidelines that teachers should follow to ensure that they are creating fair assessments. There are five main guidelines that should help to achieve fairness and equity for the students. However, keep in mind that real life happens and different circumstances will arise and create some challenges in creating the “perfect” fair assessment. No assessment will ever be perfect and it will be rare that every situation will go as planned.
1. Develop Methods
· Assessments methods is the various strategies and techniques that teachers can use to make sure that their students are meeting the learning outcomes.
· These methods should be clearly related to the intended goals and objectives of the lessons that the teacher is presenting to the students.
· As well teachers should not rely on only one form of assessment method.
· Finally the assessments should avoid any content and language that is not suitable for the audience that is receiving the assessment.
2. Collecting Assessment Information
· Assessments need to clearly indicate what it is the teacher is wanting from the students.
· Students should be informed on why and how they are being assessed
· The directions provided on the assessment should be clear and concise.
· Any interruptions that occur during the assessment period should be recorded. This will aid in grading when there is an unexplained reason for poor results.
3. Judging and Scoring Students Performance
· Scoring and judging the assessment should be directly correlated to the type of assessment that was given to the students.
· The rubric in which the teacher will use to score the assessment should be created before the assessment is given out.
· Either verbally or written on the assessment, the teacher needs to clear explain how they will be scoring the assessment.
· When scoring teachers need to be free of any biases that may affect the score of an individual student.
· Students need to know prior to the assessment that if they disagree with how the assessment was scored that they may appeal.
4. Summarizing and Interpreting Results
· They way in which a teacher grades and formulates the results should be public knowledge. Meaning that students, parents, and administrators have the right to know how the teacher came up with the results.
· Final grades should be based on more than one assessment.
· Interpretations of the assessment should take into account the learning experience of the students. The student may not be at the same level of all the other students but did they make improvements from previous assessments.
5. Reporting Assessment Findings
· Assessments reports need to be clear, accurate, and fair.
· Reports should include weaknesses as well as strengths.
· Reports need to be shared between students, parents, and teachers.
UNIT 8
DATA PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF TESTS AND AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT DATA
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Descriptive statistics are used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis of data.
Descriptive statistics are typically distinguished from inferential statistics. With descriptive statistics you are simply describing what is or what the data shows. With inferential statistics, you are trying to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data alone. For instance, we use inferential statistics to try to infer from the sample data what the population might think. Or, we use inferential statistics to make judgments of the probability that an observed difference between groups is a dependable one or one that might have happened by chance in this study. Thus, we use inferential statistics to make inferences from our data to more general conditions; we use descriptive statistics simply to describe what’s going on in our data.
Descriptive Statistics are used to present quantitative descriptions in a manageable form. In a research study we may have lots of measures. Or we may measure a large number of people on any measure. Descriptive statistics help us to simplify large amounts of data in a sensible way. Each descriptive statistic reduces lots of data into a simpler summary. For instance, consider a simple number used to summarize how well a batter is performing in baseball, the batting average. This single number is simply the number of hits divided by the number of times at bat (reported to three significant digits). A batter who is hitting .333 is getting a hit one time in every three at bats. One batting .250 is hitting one time in four. The single number describes a large number of discrete events. Or, consider the scourge of many students, the Grade Point Average (GPA). This single number describes the general performance of a student across a potentially wide range of course experiences.
Every time you try to describe a large set of observations with a single indicator you run the risk of distorting the original data or losing important detail. The batting average doesn’t tell you whether the batter is hitting home runs or singles. It doesn’t tell whether she’s been in a slump or on a streak. The GPA doesn’t tell you whether the student was in difficult courses or easy ones, or whether they were courses in their major field or in other disciplines. Even given these limitations, descriptive statistics provide a powerful summary that may enable comparisons across people or other units.
CRITERION-REFERENCED & NORM-REFERENCED INTERPRETATION
CRITERION-REFERENCED
Criterion-referenced interpretation is the interpretation of a test score as a measure of the knowledge, skills, and abilities an individual or group can demonstrate from a clearly defined content or behaviour domain. It is often defined as a contrast to norm-referenced interpretation, where an individual’s score only has meaning when it is compared to other individuals’ scores. Criterion-referenced interpretations are independent of information based on how the average person performs. This entry further describes criterion-referenced interpretation and its uses, and then discusses the design and validation of tests that foster criterion-referenced interpretation. The entry concludes with a look at common misconceptions about criterion-referenced interpretation.
PRINCIPLES FOR FAIR STUDENT ASSESSMENT PRACTICES FOR EDUCATION
The Fairness principle is based on the individual learner’s needs being considered during the RTO Assessment process.
So, how do RTOs make sure that their assessment process is fair?
The RTO is to make reasonable adjustments to account for the individual learner’s needs. It is important to note that the term 'reasonable adjustments' is used and remember that adjustments that would compromise the integrity of the training or create undue hardship for the RTO are not included within this parameter.
The RTO must also ensure that the learner has a clear understanding of the assessment process and is allowed to challenge the result of the assessment. The RTO Assessment tool should provide evidence that this has been explained to the learner and they understand and agree to this process. If required, the learner is permitted to be reassessed.
This principle aims to create an environment of equality and provide learners with access to training, and that those learners that require additional assistance are not disadvantaged in the process. Essentially, it creates a level playing field.
Principles for Fair Assessment Practices for Education are easily accessible and have many guidelines that teachers should follow to ensure that they are creating fair assessments. There are five main guidelines that should help to achieve fairness and equity for the students. However, keep in mind that real life happens and different circumstances will arise and create some challenges in creating the “perfect” fair assessment. No assessment will ever be perfect and it will be rare that every situation will go as planned.
1. Develop Methods
· Assessments methods is the various strategies and techniques that teachers can use to make sure that their students are meeting the learning outcomes.
· These methods should be clearly related to the intended goals and objectives of the lessons that the teacher is presenting to the students.
· As well teachers should not rely on only one form of assessment method.
· Finally the assessments should avoid any content and language that is not suitable for the audience that is receiving the assessment.
2. Collecting Assessment Information
· Assessments need to clearly indicate what it is the teacher is wanting from the students.
· Students should be informed on why and how they are being assessed
· The directions provided on the assessment should be clear and concise.
· Any interruptions that occur during the assessment period should be recorded. This will aid in grading when there is an unexplained reason for poor results.
3. Judging and Scoring Students Performance
· Scoring and judging the assessment should be directly correlated to the type of assessment that was given to the students.
· The rubric in which the teacher will use to score the assessment should be created before the assessment is given out.
· Either verbally or written on the assessment, the teacher needs to clear explain how they will be scoring the assessment.
· When scoring teachers need to be free of any biases that may affect the score of an individual student.
· Students need to know prior to the assessment that if they disagree with how the assessment was scored that they may appeal.
4. Summarizing and Interpreting Results
· They way in which a teacher grades and formulates the results should be public knowledge. Meaning that students, parents, and administrators have the right to know how the teacher came up with the results.
· Final grades should be based on more than one assessment.
· Interpretations of the assessment should take into account the learning experience of the students. The student may not be at the same level of all the other students but did they make improvements from previous assessments.
5. Reporting Assessment Findings
· Assessments reports need to be clear, accurate, and fair.
· Reports should include weaknesses as well as strengths.
· Reports need to be shared between students, parents, and teachers.
VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ISSUES
Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. They indicate how well a method, technique or test measures something. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure.
It’s important to consider reliability and validity when you are creating your research design, planning your methods, and writing up your results, especially in quantitative research.
RELIABILITY
Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something. If the same result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable.
You measure the temperature of a liquid sample several times under identical conditions. The thermometer displays the same temperature every time, so the results are reliable.
A doctor uses a symptom questionnaire to diagnose a patient with a long-term medical condition. Several different doctors use the same questionnaire with the same patient but give different diagnoses. This indicates that the questionnaire has low reliability as a measure of the condition.
VALIDITY
Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure. If research has high validity, that means it produces results that correspond to real properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world.
High reliability is one indicator that a measurement is valid. If a method is not reliable, it probably isn’t valid.
If the thermometer shows different temperatures each time, even though you have carefully controlled conditions to ensure the sample’s temperature stays the same, the thermometer is probably malfunctioning, and therefore its measurements are not valid.
If a symptom questionnaire results in a reliable diagnosis when answered at different times and with different doctors, this indicates that it has high validity as a measurement of the medical condition.
However, reliability on its own is not enough to ensure validity. Even if a test is reliable, it may not accurately reflect the real situation.
The thermometer that you used to test the sample gives reliable results. However, the thermometer has not been calibrated properly, so the result is 2 degrees lower than the true value. Therefore, the measurement is not valid.
A group of participants take a test designed to measure working memory. The results are reliable, but participants’ scores correlate strongly with their level of reading comprehension. This indicates that the method might have low validity: the test may be measuring participants’ reading comprehension instead of their working memory.
Validity is harder to assess than reliability, but it is even more important. To obtain useful results, the methods you use to collect your data must be valid: the research must be measuring what it claims to measure. This ensures that your discussion of the data and the conclusions you draw are also valid.
HOW ARE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ASSESSED?
Reliability can be estimated by comparing different versions of the same measurement. Validity is harder to assess, but it can be estimated by comparing the results to other relevant data or theory. Methods of estimating reliability and validity are usually split up into different types.
TYPES OF RELIABILITY
Different types of reliability can be estimated through various statistical methods.
Types of reliability | ||
Test-retest | The consistency of a measure across time: do you get the same results when you repeat the measurement? | A group of participants complete a questionnaire designed to measure personality traits. If they repeat the questionnaire days, weeks or months apart and give the same answers, this indicates high test-retest reliability. |
Interrater | The consistency of a measure across raters or observers: do you get the same results when different people conduct the same measurement? | Based on an assessment criteria checklist, five examiners submit substantially different results for the same student project. This indicates that the assessment checklist has low inter-rater reliability (for example, because the criteria are too subjective). |
Internal consistency | The consistency of the measurement itself: do you get the same results from different parts of a test that are designed to measure the same thing? | You design a questionnaire to measure self-esteem. If you randomly split the results into two halves, there should be a strong correlation between the two sets of results. If the two results are very different, this indicates low internal consistency. |
TYPES OF VALIDITY
The validity of a measurement can be estimated based on three main types of evidence. Each type can be evaluated through expert judgement or statistical methods.
Types of validity | ||
Construct | The adherence of a measure to existing theory and knowledge of the concept being measured. | A self-esteem questionnaire could be assessed by measuring other traits known or assumed to be related to the concept of self-esteem (such as social skills and optimism). Strong correlation between the scores for self-esteem and associated traits would indicate high construct validity. |
Content | The extent to which the measurement covers all aspects of the concept being measured. | A test that aims to measure a class of students’ level of Spanish contains reading, writing and speaking components, but no listening component. Experts agree that listening comprehension is an essential aspect of language ability, so the test lacks content validity for measuring the overall level of ability in Spanish. |
Criterion | The extent to which the result of a measure corresponds to other valid measures of the same concept. | A survey is conducted to measure the political opinions of voters in a region. If the results accurately predict the later outcome of an election in that region, this indicates that the survey has high criterion validity. |
To assess the validity of a cause-and-effect relationship, you also need to consider internal validity (the design of the experiment) and external validity (the generalizability of the results).
How to ensure validity and reliability in your research
The reliability and validity of your results depends on creating a strong research design, choosing appropriate methods and samples, and conducting the research carefully and consistently.
ENSURING VALIDITY
If you use scores or ratings to measure variations in something (such as psychological traits, levels of ability or physical properties), it’s important that your results reflect the real variations as accurately as possible. Validity should be considered in the very earliest stages of your research, when you decide how you will collect your data.
Choose appropriate methods of measurement
Ensure that your method and measurement technique are high quality and targeted to measure exactly what you want to know. They should be thoroughly researched and based on existing knowledge.
For example, to collect data on a personality trait, you could use a standardized questionnaire that is considered reliable and valid. If you develop your own questionnaire, it should be based on established theory or findings of previous studies, and the questions should be carefully and precisely worded.
Use appropriate sampling methods to select your subjects
To produce valid generalizable results, clearly define the population you are researching (e.g. people from a specific age range, geographical location, or profession). Ensure that you have enough participants and that they are representative of the population.
ENSURING RELIABILITY
Reliability should be considered throughout the data collection process. When you use a tool or technique to collect data, it’s important that the results are precise, stable and reproducible.
Apply your methods consistently
Plan your method carefully to make sure you carry out the same steps in the same way for each measurement. This is especially important if multiple researchers are involved.
For example, if you are conducting interviews or observations, clearly define how specific behaviours or responses will be counted, and make sure questions are phrased the same way each time.
Standardize the conditions of your research
When you collect your data, keep the circumstances as consistent as possible to reduce the influence of external factors that might create variation in the results.
For example, in an experimental setup, make sure all participants are given the same information and tested under the same conditions.
WHERE TO WRITE ABOUT RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY IN A THESIS
It’s appropriate to discuss reliability and validity in various sections of your thesis or dissertation. Showing that you have taken them into account in planning your research and interpreting the results makes your work more credible and trustworthy.
Reliability and validity in a thesis | |
Literature review | What have other researchers done to devise and improve methods that are reliable and valid? |
Methodology | How did you plan your research to ensure reliability and validity of the measures used? This includes the chosen sample set and size, sample preparation, external conditions and measuring techniques. |
Results | If you calculate reliability and validity, state these values alongside your main results. |
Discussion | This is the moment to talk about how reliable and valid your results actually were. Were they consistent, and did they reflect true values? If not, why not? |
Conclusion | If reliability and validity were a big problem for your findings, it might be helpful to mention this here. |
TYPES OF FEEDBACK
Feedback can serve a number of purposes and take a number of forms. Feedback can be provided as a single entity – ie: informal feedback on a student’s grasp of a concept in class – or a combination of multiple entities – ie: formal, formative, peer feedback on stage one of an assessment task. Each has its place in enhancing and maximising student learning, thus where possible, courses should provide opportunities for a range of feedback types.
Informal feedback
Informal feedback can occur at any times as it is something that emerges spontaneously in the moment or during action. Therefore informal feedback requires the building of rapport with students to effectively encourage, coach or guide them in daily management and decision-making for learning. This might occur in the classroom, over the phone, in an online forum or virtual classroom.
Formal feedback
Formal feedback is planned and systematically scheduled into the process. Usually associated with assessment tasks, formal feedback includes the likes of marking criteria, competencies or achievement of standards, and is recorded for both the student and organisation as evidence.
Formative feedback
The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning. Therefore formative feedback is best given early in the course, and prior to summative assessments. Formative feedback helps students to improve and prevent them from making the same mistakes again. In some cases, feedback is required before students can progress, or feel capable of progressing, to the next stage of the assessment.
Summative feedback
The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Therefore summative feedback consists of detailed comments that are related to specific aspects of their work, clearly explains how the mark was derived from the criteria provided and additional constructive comments on how the work could be improved.
Student peer feedback
There is no longer need for teachers to be the only experts within a course. With basic instruction and on-going support, students can learn to give quality feedback, which is highly valued by peers. Providing students with regular opportunities to give and receive peer feedback enriches their learning experiences and develops their professional skill set.
Student self-feedback
This is the ultimate goal of feedback for learning. During the provision of feedback, teachers have the opportunity not only to provide direction for the students, but to teach them, through explicit modelling and instruction, the skills of self-assessment and goal setting, leading them to become more independent (Sackstein, 2017). To help students reach autonomy teachers can explicitly identify, share, and clarify learning goals and success criteria; model the application of criteria using samples; provide guided opportunities for self-feedback; teach students how to use feedback to determine next steps and set goals; and allow time for self-feedback/reflection.
Constructive feedback
This type of feedback is specific, issue-focused and based on observations. There are four types of constructive feedback:
Negative feedback – corrective comments about past behaviour. Focuses on behaviour that wasn’t successful and shouldn’t be repeated.
Positive feedback – affirming comments about past behaviour. Focuses on behaviour that was successful and should be continued.
Negative feed-forward – corrective comments about future performance. Focuses on behaviour that should be avoided in the future.
Positive feed-forward – affirming comments about future behaviour. Focused on behaviour that will improve performance in the future.
HOW TO USE FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
Feedback is arguably the most effective tool in any manager’s toolkit, as well as one of the cheapest
It can be used to encourage people to learn, to raise their morale and motivation, and to improve their performance. Feedback underpins almost everything that a good people manager is required to do.
To achieve these benefits, organisations need to develop a culture that values positive feedback. This is where the balance of positive to negative feedback is around 80 per cent to 20 per cent – reflecting the performance levels achieved by most people – and where giving and taking feedback is an accepted part of everyday working life. It is also a culture which assumes that feedback is given constructively.
The observations that I have made in the course of running many performance management and personal development courses suggest that there are a few people who still receive no feedback. Others are given it only once a year as part of an appraisal process, while an increasing number receive feedback two or three times a year in formal performance review meetings. But it is still uncommon for people to receive it informally on a regular basis.
It is still the case that feedback often means that you are given a rollicking for doing something wrong. Most managers I have talked to say that, to the extent that they receive any feedback at all, the balance is around 20 per cent positive to 80 per cent negative – a situation that does not accurately reflect their performance. They estimate that they do between 75 and 90 per cent of their job well, yet satisfactory performance tends to be covered swiftly in formal appraisal or review meetings. Instead, most of the discussion focuses on those aspects that need improving.
Despite this strong negative bias, my observations suggest that most managers – though by no means all – are more comfortable giving positive, rather than negative, feedback. Similarly, most people feel more comfortable receiving positive feedback. Nearly everyone finds it difficult to take negative feedback.
This anecdotal evidence suggests that we are a long way from using feedback well. We are reluctant to give it and poor at receiving it, and this often has damaging effects on performance. But things don’t have to be this way.
Constructive feedback, which the recipient can take on board and learn from, involves:
Making your statement simple and to the point, focusing on specific examples of what the person did;
Seeking a response;
Leaving the choice of whether or not to change behaviour with the recipient;
Speaking in an adult-to-adult way that shows respect.
A small investment in learning the basics listed here will pay off considerably for most organisations.
1) Be respectful
The acceptability of any feedback depends on how it is given, rather than what is said. Tone of voice and body language are as important as the words used. A good guideline is to imagine – regardless of who you are actually talking to – that you are giving the feedback to your boss. Adopt the same respectful words, tone and body language, and you will create the right atmosphere.
2) Get the balance right
It is important to strike the right balance between positive and negative feedback. Many people have been taught to sandwich negative comments between two pieces of positive feedback. Although this may be appropriate when feedback is a rare event, it can cause the recipient to discount the positive comments and see them as a sop to make “real”, negative feedback more palatable.
When feedback is given more regularly, it becomes possible to give whatever feedback is relevant at a particular moment, without worrying about whether it is positive, negative or mixed. What counts is the balance of positive to negative over time.
3) Invite a response
Whether the feedback is positive or negative, the receiver will learn more if they are given a chance to reply.
“What helped you do that so well?” or “what was happening here?” are examples of open questions that invite a response. These help the person to think through and learn from the feedback.
4) Learn to receive
If feedback is to be of use, people need to learn not only how to give it but also how to take it.
We often “punish” feedback-givers by reacting defensively to negative feedback or discounting positive feedback, for example, by saying: “It’s just my job”. A good tip to remember is that, if you find a conversation getting into a defend/ attack spiral, you are going nowhere.
5) Accept no substitutes
Feedback is sometimes confused with other, related processes. For example, thanking someone for a job well done is a way of giving that person recognition, but it is not sufficiently specific or behavioural to be feedback.
Neither is it two-way. Recognition has morale benefits and, possibly, builds people’s confidence, but it does not help them to learn and improve their performance in the way that feedback does.
Similarly, challenging or confronting individuals is a way of raising concerns about underperformance or unacceptable behaviour. But in this situation the recipient’s behaviour has to change, and the manager’s aim is to gain acceptance of this. In feedback, the choice of whether or not to change is left to the receiver.
6) Keep coaching for later
When feedback becomes two-way, it moves towards coaching, although coaching is more structured and usually goes beyond one session. There is also a difference in how the exchange starts. Feedback is usually initiated by a statement from the giver, while coaching is initiated by the receiver and starts with questions. Coaching often follows feedback, as it can be effective only once the receiver wants to accept, or has accepted, the need to change.
It is arguable that British managers have given little feedback to their staff and have rarely taken action over their behaviour until it becomes necessary to challenge them or even start disciplinary proceedings. Regular, constructive feedback reduces the need to challenge and discipline people in this way. Instead it puts the focus on helping them to learn from what they are good at, as well as from where they are going wrong.
The dos and don’ts of giving constructive feedback
Do ensure that your comments are:
Objective and based on facts or observations;
Specific;
Focused on behaviour, not personality (what people do, not what they are);
Based on behaviour that can be controlled by the recipient of the feedback;
Timely;
Given in an adult-to-adult, respectful, non-judgmental way;
Regular and informal, not only given as part of the appraisal process;
An appropriate balance of positive and negative;
Non-prescriptive, leaving the recipient with the choice of whether or not to change;
In amounts from which the person can learn;
Two-way.
Don’t:
Start by asking questions – for example: “guess what’s in my mind?”;
Make a statement, and then soften it by going round the houses with ifs, buts and maybes;
Go straight to suggestions of how things might be put right;
Talk down to people, tell them off or adopt an “i know best” attitude.
TIPS FOR RECEIVING FEEDBACK
Listen to the message.
Do not defend or argue.
Clarify if you are unsure.
Accept praise; don’t write it off.
Focus on what is being said; don’t feel that you have to agree or disagree.
Ensure that you understand what is being said; show that you understand.
Consider asking what they would like to see done differently.
Thank the giver – they have just taken a risk for you
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EXAMS...
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